We'll Chase the Sun
by Keyade
Summary: The Nymphs have always been hunted for their sheer beauty and their ability to heal any ailment. When the Prince contracts an incurable disease, the Hunter, Levi, is ordered to entrap one of them. He manages to capture Eren, a rare male fledgling. A tale of how two souls from different worlds turn their mutual hate into affection over time. Levi x Eren.
1. Hail and Arrows

**Author's Note:** As some of you may know, I had another Levi x Eren fic called Ashes to Ashes, which I've decided to abandon due to lack of information from the cannonverse. Don't kill me first! To make up for it, I've decided to write completely different fic, but with many similarities to Ashes to Ashes. I've also come up with what I felt was a much better storyline and setting! I've also added more characters, the old one was pretty limited :) Hope you guys will like this one much more. Thanks in advance for reading!

**Chapter 1 - Hail and Arrows**

000

They are few, but not few enough to be forgotten by mankind.

There was a time when the forests were safe, and travelers roamed through trees freely, hoping to come close enough to one to touch its wings. If you did, love, health and happiness will follow you for a lifetime. They were said to be so beautiful that one could gaze upon them forever. Their voices were so otherworldly that men could listen to them and forget even their own names. Though seldom seen, they lived in tales of humankind. Some call them the Fair Folk, but most call them Nymphs.

The Nymphs' greatest splendor lay in their ability to bring miracles. As the saying goes, a single drop of their tears can heal any ailment. Thus, when the disease of the White Pollen brought doom upon the land, these once sacred creatures became hunted with great fervor. Their greatest gift became their greatest curse. Before long, many were captured by men and forced to live in tiny cages. They were put through great pain and torture so that they would shed tears, which were the only cure for the rampant disease. Although they were thought to be immortal, those captured weakened and perished, for they were meant to fly freely through the trees, not shackled with iron. Thousands of Nymphs died for Man's desire to save themselves, and yet the White Pollen persisted like a frost that wouldn't go away.

Nymphs were creatures of peace and seldom angered. But when they did, their rage glowed blacker than the smoke above a roaring flame. Never before had they used their splendid power to bring bloodshed, but Queen Ymir of the Nymphs sent a great hail of fire that reduced more than half of the human kingdoms to ashes. And at long last, revenge sought and weakened from their declining numbers, these once glorious creatures retreated into the forest they came from, never to be seen again.

Until the day our story begins.

000

There are three things that come to both the rich and the poor. Grief, illness and death. They do not pick, they do not choose – they simply arrive at the beckoning of fate. Even kings must face them.

_Even if it's my King. _

Levi straightened from his bow. King Erwin granted him permission to approach with a weary glance. He walked closer without a word. There was nothing appropriate he could possibly say at times like this, not even as an old friend.

"Lord Levi has come to see you," the King said to the frail, bed-ridden figure. Levi didn't miss the well-concealed tremor in his voice.

The figure stirred. Prince's Armin's once striking blue eyes had lost their luster a week ago. Yesterday, there was the first hint of a dusting of white in his irises. Today, as he turned around, Levi could see that things had taken a drastic turn for the worse. The Prince's face was more gaunt than ever, and his breaths were shallow and faint. But the most devastating of it all were his irises – they had turned completely white.

"Your Highness…" Levi whispered before he could stop himself.

The Prince summoned a weak smile, his empty eyes unseeing and pallid as snow. He tried to face Levi, but missed by a large distance.

He had become completely blind.

A muffled sob came from the corner of the room. Princess Historia wept in a crumpled heap the floor, unable to stand for grief. Her lady-in-waiting ran to her side, holding her in an embrace.

"Your brother can still hear you, Princess," Lady Petra murmured as she rocked the girl back and forth, tears running down her own cheeks. "Please don't cry."

Levi closed his eyes, more vexed than he had been in a long time. He had always liked to think of himself as resourceful, capable and useful to the King, but what fat use was he now?

A cold hand grabbed his. Levi was faintly surprised that the Prince could find it at all, despite no longer being able to see.

"You'll take care of her when I'm gone, won't you?" the Prince asked. His faltering voice was as kind as ever. Levi felt something clench in his chest.

_They say the good die young, don't they? _

Some of the greedy, good-for-nothing noblemen of King Erwin's court deserved to die like this. But not this quiet, gentle boy. Some wicked men deserved to have their children taken away from them. But not this King, who had been nothing short of the most benevolent ruler the land had seen.

"You won't die, your highness," Levi lied, his voice as heavy as his heart.

He could see the King shaking his head slowly, blinking the redness away from his eyes. Levi couldn't tell whether his own hands were shaking as well. Prince Armin smiled again, his hand slowly loosening as his strength gave out.

Soon, his unseeing white eyes were closed in deep sleep. Stagnant silence settled once again around them, amplifying the melancholy in the air many fold.

This way they stayed, for what seemed like hours.

"Go and rest, everyone," the King sighed eventually. "I will watch over him."

Bowing low, Lady Petra proceeded to usher the still sobbing Princess Historia out of the room. Levi followed suit. Protocol would dictate that all present should offer to stand vigil rather than let their King endure another sleepless night, but they had already tried to persuade him for many days to no avail.

Levi let his step falter as he approached the door. Against his better judgment, he turned around.

"I'm the King's Hunter after all, your Majesty," he said, letting no emotion colour his voice. He had been jostling that thought in his mind for a while now, and it seemed like the right time to finally say it.

The King looked up, a faint hint of surprise on his weary features.

"I think the people have long forgotten what that means," Levi continued, wondering if it was wise to push it too far at this brittle moment. There was no way the King wouldn't understand what he was referring to.

But King Erwin gave no more than a wry smile, shaking his head.

"I appreciate your good will, but…you'll never catch one in time."

"I will," Levi insisted.

After all, he had his own motivations as fuel.

"I won't hunt them anymore, Levi. The war marked the end of this."

"What about the late Queen, then?" said Levi. He was stepping into dangerous zones. If he didn't know his old friend so well, he was sure the King would have ordered him hanged for his prosperousness.

"Levi..."

"Isn't it only fair that the very creatures who took her life atone by giving her children back their life?"

"Why are you mentioning this now? The past should be forgotten –"

"I cannot forget my family, Sire," Levi said, unable to stop the words. Yet, he was perfectly calm. It had been seventeen years. He had long learned to reign the roiling anger that he had nurtured since the day the hail of fire rained down upon his childhood home. The hail of fire that took away everything and everyone his contented ten year old self treasured. He thought that he had forgiven and forgotten, but it seemed like he hadn't, after all.

The King turned away from him. Levi didn't need to look up to see the turmoil in his regal blue eyes.

"Why did you become a Hunter, Levi?"

"To find peace of heart."

"In vengeance?"

"If need be, Sire."

The King smiled a sad smile, pulling the blankets up to the Prince's chin again when his stirring caused it to shift slightly.

"How can I deny an old friend peace of heart?" he said, shaking his head tiredly.

Levi avoided his gaze, feeling a prick of guilt. He had taken advantage of the King's sorrow to advance his own desire for revenge. He'd gotten what he wanted, but it didn't feel as satisfying as he thought it would. Maybe a sense of settlement will only come to him after he had indeed caught a nymph.

An eye for an eye, it was only fair. The filthy, vicious winged creatures must suffer, the way Levi had suffered.

He'd waited his whole life for this permission. After all, what was a hunter who didn't hunt nymphs?

He watched King closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his tall nose.

"Go, Levi," he said.

000

(**Note:** Levi's official designation is the King's Hunter. Before the Hail, the King's Hunter was a title given to the best Nymph hunter in the land. After King Erwin forbade further Nymph hunting after the death of the late Queen Mary, the title belonged to the captain of the King's spies. Levi actually works for Erwin as a spy rather than as 'hunter' in the literal sense, but he is still called the Hunter as a matter of tradition and formality.)

000

"What are you, my wet-nurse?"

"Eren, there are humans out. If they catch you –"

"I _know_. But they won't. What's a few land-huggers? They can't even fly, for god's sake."

"Just stay away from the Border. Promise."

"Fine, _mother_."

"_Eren_."

He turned around, a grin illuminating his lively emerald eyes. Ah, he was teasing her again. The morning sun shone through his transparent green wings, scattering brilliant fragments of gold and jade light across the white floor. Green was a common color among the Nymphs. Everyone admired Mikasa's crystallite orange-red wings, which were much rarer. But to Mikasa, his wings looked exactly like dappled beams of sun through new spring leaves – lucid, pure and full of life, with just a hint of sea-blue at the tips.

He had messy brown hair that won't stay flat. He had a crooked smile and an insufferable temper that got him into many fights with other fledglings.

But he was her little brother, and everything about him was beautiful to her.

"I won't go anywhere near the border, alright?"

Mikasa stepped forward and touched her wingtips to his – a simple manner of farewell unique to the Nymphs. She could feel the impatient flutter in them as he fidgeted, eager to go. Then, with a few wing beats too rapid for the human eye to follow, he was off.

At times like this, she was glad that his wings were a common color. The green would make him less visible in the forest, and the humans were usually less interested in Nymphs with emerald wings. _She_ was the one who needed to be more careful near the human territories, really.

"Be back before nightfall!" she shouted. He was already many meters away. But he had the ears of a nymph, and she was sure he heard her.

000

Eren wove in and out of high branches, feeling freer than he did all week. He'd been cooped up in the Eyrie with mundane tasks for way too long. He hated kitchen work with a passion– it was a constant reminder that he lacked much of the grace and nimbleness of his race. That stupid bow-maker Jean would always cast derisive glances at him as he attempted to clean the plates, making snide remarks about how it should be physically impossible for a nymph (of all creatures!) to drop them. Mikasa would fix them with simple spells, but the embarrassment remained.

So bless Queen Ymir for ending his suffering and sending him out on this mission. Then again, he had the nagging suspicion that even the Queen was a little wary of his clumsiness, because the orders were so simple that he couldn't go wrong if he tried. He'd lied to Mikasa about not going near the border – he was sure she would volunteer to go instead if he was honest. To Eren, the task was so undangerous, it was laughable.

Bring the note to the abandoned outpost near the border and leave it there. Berthodlt and Reiner would come for it later at night.

He didn't know what Queen Ymir wanted them to do, but he was sure it terribly important. Maybe it had something to do with Annie? Eren couldn't conceal his envy. They were barely three years older than him, and yet their skills have already earned them a right to explore the mysterious human kingdoms.

_When will I be good enough too?_

Oh well, he could finally go near the border, at least! If he flew high enough, he could catch a glimpse of the tall, strange brick and stone structure the humans called a 'castle'. Sometimes, he saw the tips of other buildings as well, and very rarely, when there was no mist, the indistinct outlines of a few floating wooden houses they called 'ships' bobbling in the distant sparkling ocean. What would it be like to sit inside one of them? Could they go across the sea to unknown lands? What would be there then? More human cities? More Nymph flocks?

His sudden excitement made him go higher and higher. At the back of his mind, he remembered Mikasa's warning that he may be spotted by human deer-hunters if he went too far above the camouflaging forest canopy. But here were no humans about today, and he'd be sure to hear them if they even came within miles! Humans were such ungainly land-bound creatures, they moved so slowly made a huge din whenever they went.

He flapped his wings hard, attempting to rise above the tree tops. It was so high! Mikasa would kill him if she knew he'd tried to –

"Sir! Sir!"

A shout made him turn abruptly. Instinctively, he dove towards the nearest clump of leaves before even processing the source of the sound.

_What was that?_

"There! Up there, Sir!" Another voice shouted from the ground many meters below.

A whizzing sound flew past, very near his left ear.

_An arrow?_

Eren lifted his hand to his cheek. There was a smear of blood – it had scraped his face lightly. How did they see him through the trees, whoever they were?

He looked down…

…and almost fell out of the sky. There were a dozen arrows aimed at directly him, held by what looked like a large army of…humans. They were garbed identical military cloaks and armed to the teeth with every imaginable weapon.

Humans?

HUMANS!

But…how did he not hear them? Without thinking, Eren headed the only direction he could – away. Another volley of arrows zipped through the air, many times faster than he could fly. Still, he was a Nymph, and he could hear exactly where they were. He ducked and dived frantically, his superior reflexes allowing him to avoid every single one. He glided through the thick canopy, his heart fluttering as fast as his wings.

Humans, here in the forest.

He'd never seen humans in his life.

And they saw him! Why were they here? Were they hunting? What were they hunting? There was nothing worth catching in this part of the forest, save for a few small quails and unremarkable squirrels.

No, wait.

Could they…could they possibly be looking for nymphs?

Since the days of the Hail, his kind became very much more well-hidden. Only a handful of nymphs were unfortunate enough to be captured in the past seventeen years, and of those, Eren had only known Annie. The humans still constantly looked for them in small hunting packs, but he'd heard that it was done illegally, because nymph-hunting had been outlawed by the humans' King. And because of that, Eren heard, they fetched a fortune in the human territories.

He suddenly remembered what Bard Marco said. Nymphs who were caught and enslaved by humans led the most terrible of lives. They'd be shackled like the humans' livestock (Nymphs didn't keep animals) and traded amongst the wealthy like livestock. Because their wings could grow back within months, they were cut off while the Nymph was conscious and collected as trophies for display in their 'museums'.

Even while flying for his life, a shudder managed to find its way up Eren's spine.

The bard said this process repeated until the Nymph eventually died of pain and despair. And that was what probably happened to Annie when she disappeared last winter. The entire Eyrie grieved as if she were gone from this world, even though she was probably kept alive by the wicked humans. It wasn't a just tale to scare fledglings after all. A captured Nymph was as good as dead.

And they'd seen him.

Eren couldn't breathe.

A slew of arrows flew past, slicing through the air and dangerously near his face. His fear making it hard to think properly. What was happening? Why were they targeting him?

Just hours ago, he'd have laughed if someone told him he'd be this frightened. Like every other fledgling, he'd imagined himself gracefully (and heroically) making an escape from the slow land-huggers, laughing at them as he had escaped.

But…what now? He'd never been hunted before. Of course he hadn't – he hadn't even come this close to the border before. And humans never came to this part of the forest!

Another arrow glanced past him, and Eren flinched. Humans weren't slow at was quite a far cry from what he'd been told. They certainly couldn't fly, but their blades could, and that was worse. He attempted to soar higher, but soon realized that the thick leaves would slow him down so much that he'll eventually be impaled by a well-positioned arrow. He remembered what Mikasa said.

At times like this, fly low.

The branches near the forest floor were sparse enough to for him to make a quick escape. It was a necessary trade-off.

Fly low!

Against his screaming instincts, he forced himself to dive towards the ground. He could now hear the distinct clopping of hooves. No wonder they could keep up with him, they had horses! It was much easier to see where the arrows were at this height, and his increased speed made it many times more difficult for humans to get an aim at him. The soldiers began to swear and grunt, yelling at him above the din of the horses' gaits.

"It's a male! There're _male_ nymphs?!" He could hear an excited human exclaim.

"Don't be ridiculous, Hanji," another human sneered. "You're always –"

"It's _really_ male!"

"By the gods! I thought that they were only maidens!"

"No one's ever seen a male one before! The King will give us a handsome reward!"

Loud cheering ensued.

_What?!_

Ha! Those land-huggers didn't know?

How could there be only female nymphs? Just how ignorant were these wingless freaks?

Suddenly, his anxiety dissipated. He needn't have been so worried to start with. Humans indeed a confused, uncoordinated babble of trolls. They didn't seem to know a thing about his kind – it'll be so easy to out fly them. He would have laughed if he weren't running for his life. Of course there were male Nymphs - although by some quirk of Nature, the males were considerably smaller in number. They weren't humans and didn't need two sexes for childbirth, after all. He could feel his old confidence returning, and he flew faster.

Then another voice sounded, abruptly cutting off all the rest.

"Don't aim at it's vitals. I want it alive."

Who…_what_ was that?

A shiver ran down Eren's spine.

That voice was different from the other humans. It wasn't loud, coarse and excitable. It was quiet, perfectly calm and ice cold. It was completely at odds with the mental picture Eren had of humans in general.

_Their leader, perhaps?_

"Go for it's wings," the voice commanded.

The fear suddenly returned, stronger than ever. Eren felt his back seize up. Nymph wings were where they were most vulnerable, and this human somehow knew that. But how? Humans were stupid and slow, weren't they?

Something told him that he could ignore the other humans and be wary of just this particular one. As an new batch of arrows pelted towards him, one of them managed to scrape his forearm deeply enough to hurt. The projectile was alarmingly accurate.

Did…this particular human shoot it?

Eren clutched his arm, doubling his speed in newfound desperation. Panic was rising in his chest, making his breaths rapid and anxious. His heart thumped painfully. He wasn't used to flying at this speed, and the fatigue was numbing his back and shoulders. How much longer could he keep this up?

When he turned around, he realized he could no longer see the humans. For a minute he thought he'd lost them, but two arrows flew towards him from an entirely unexpected direction. They were aimed squarely at him, and only a hasty maneuver to the left at the last possible second saved him from being skewered.

What just happened? Weren't the humans just behind…?

There was a pounding in his ears now. Something didn't feel quite right. Were the trees swaying more than usual? He was going to go this way…now which way was it? Everything seemed to be…spinning?

Eren glanced at his arm, where the arrow had torn through his tunic. Apart from blood, there were droplets of a strange purple liquid surrounding the wound.

Wait.

!

The arrow was poisoned!

The realization came with a fresh wave of dizziness, followed by the urge to throw up. He wanted to swear, but couldn't muster the energy. His vision was split now, and strange spots of light and dark were dancing before his eyes. He might have dropped a dangerous distance through the air when he momentarily stopped moving his wings. He couldn't be sure.

_NO! I'll get away! Those land-huggers can't –_

An arrow flew past, swift and sure.

"AAARRGGHH!"

A yell of agony tore through the air. It took Eren a few seconds to register that it came from himself. His right wing – his right wing felt as if it were on fire. He went completely limp as he spiraled down through the air. He didn't even register the impact as he crashed violently into the leaf litter.

ARRRGHHH!

He didn't know it was even _possible_ to feel this much pain. The agony was like molten iron running down his shoulders, his back, his entire being. If there was a way to describe this sheer torture, he'd say he would much rather die than endure it. One wouldn't think it would hurt so much to have an arrow pass through a nymphs wings – after all, the reflective crystallite structures were so thin and ephemeral, they didn't even seem to be real enough to touch. But they were real indeed, and the extreme pain was slowly consuming Eren's consciousness.

_Is this it? Am I…_

He couldn't think. He couldn't move his wings. He couldn't move any part of himself. He wanted to lie there and fade away. The pain…the pain…

_That human with the cold voice. He shot me. _

Eren didn't see it, but he just knew. And that was the last thing he thought before the forest around him faded.

000

(Note: The Eyrie refers to the Nymph settlement in the middle of the forest.)

000


	2. Pain and Fire

Chapter 2

**Pain and Fire**

There were a hundred voices talking in his head. No, there were a thousand. It was so loud, and his ears hurt. His head hurt. And his wings hurt the most as they vibrated a little with each thrum of invasive noise.

What was happening? There weren't enough Nymphs in the entire Eyrie to account for the number of voices he heard. Was he dreaming, then? Maybe if he waited, they'll fade away, the way all dream sounds do.

But they drew louder. He was starting to notice other things as well, like how parched his throat was, and how there was a dull throbbing somewhere on his left forearm. He tried to flap his wings a little to stir himself into a state of consciousness, but they were so heavy.

They felt like they were going to fall off, actually.

And there was that rhythmic bump every now and then, as if the floor he was lying on was moving. Each jerk sent aches of varying severity through his body. He couldn't remember much but…did he fall or something while flying? Everything hurt so much – he felt like a sack of broken bones.

And the floor really _was_ moving.

Eren's eyes flew open, but bright light assaulted him and he closed them again. When he tried opening them again, he saw iron rods.

Rods?

They were very close to his face, standing and evenly spaced apart. Another examination told him that they were…bars?

Bars!

He looked up frantically, only to see the same bars. He turned to his right, and there were bars again. When he looked down at his feet…of course, there were bars.

Panic suddenly jolted awake his sleep-confused mind. Where was he? Why isn't he in his nest?

Where's Mikasa?

And this is…it's a…it kind of looks like…a cage?

A cage!

He sat upright, more swiftly than the human eye can follow. It was the wrong thing to do, and his head spun and throbbed even more. As the vertigo subsided, he raised his hand just to confirm that the bars were real, only to find that he couldn't.

His hands seemed stuck together or something. The pain and confusion were slowly mounting to a dry ball of anxiety in his throat. The voices around him continued to buzz, louder than ever. Why couldn't he move his hands? He looked down, and his heart lurched at the shock.

_WHAT_ IS THIS?

There were metal cuffs on his wrists, binding his hands together in front of him. He couldn't process the sight of them at all, so he settled for staring at them dumbly, his mouth slightly open. He was in a cage the size of his bed, and his hands were in a strange metal contraption that didn't allow him to move them. He was being pulled along in some vehicle, moving slowly through what seemed like an ocean of humans. The midday sun was beating directly down on him, and his wings felt like they were sizzling.

His ability to think had deserted him completely. He was so, so disoriented.

Perhaps it was for that reason that he began to hear the words spoken around him.

"Hey look, it's awake!"

"Mommy! Is it a fairy? It's got fairy wings!"

"So _this_ is what they look like!"

"How can they be sure it's a Nymph? It's freaking _male_, for god's sake!"

"King's Hunter caught it, can't be wrong!"

"Still! There're no male nymphs!"

"There are now, you moron!"

"Doesn't look male though. Such fine skin. Look at it's face! I won't mind at all…if you know what I mean. HA!"

"Think that's what the nobles are going to use it for. Lucky bastards!"

Laughter, coarse shouts everywhere. So many comments, each more jarring than the last. They were talking about him, weren't they? Caught it? Male nymph? A terrible foreboding nagged at the back of his mind…if only he could remember how he got here…

Oh.

OH.

OH NO.

It can't be! IT CAN'T.

Eren could count the times he ever swore with one hand (thanks to Mikasa's constant reprimanding), but…

DID HE _FUCKING_ GET CAUGHT…BY HUMANS?

He didn't really know which devastated him more, the fact that he was actually caught, or the fact that his captors were these weak, stupid land-huggers. There must be _something _he could do to get out of here! He looked around frantically, only to see the morbidly curious eyes of hundreds of ugly humans, all directed at him. Instinctively, he tried to spread his wings, but intense pain sparked across the whole of the right side.

Right. He'd been shot.

Fuck (again).

He settled for aggressively attempting to disintegrate the metal thing holding his hands together. If humans were weak, surely, the things that they made were weak too. But no matter how hard he pulled, he did nothing more than chaff his wrists. As he watched blood bead on the newly formed cuts, it was all he could do to keep from howling at the top of his voice. He gripped the bars of the cage with both hands and gave it the mightiest jerk he could manage, but it didn't even rock the cart he was traveling in.

He…

He couldn't escape.

For the second time in the day, Eren couldn't breathe at all. It felt as if he were being swallowed into the depths of a dark lake. His heart thumped loudly in his chest, and his desperation to break into flight was so poignant that it hurt. He wanted to close his eyes and wake up in his nest, beside Mikasa.

Well, he was…right now, he was…

He really hated to admit it, but he was frightened.

Very, very frightened. So frightened that he thought he might just die.

To make matters worse, hands began creeping in from all sides of the cage as the humans began to realize that they could chance a touch of him. As one particularly rough one managed to stroke his injured wing, he flinched away from it so vigorously that he crashed brutally into the other side of the small space. His back hit the bars with a dull clang, and the pain multiplied. He let out a yell, his breaths coming in strained gasps. Through his agony, he could barely hear that the humans were laughing. Very loudly.

They found this funny.

Through the laughter, more hands reached in from the other side, sending dreadful pricks up his wings every time they made contact.

They were touching his wings. _Touching_ his _wings_. Eren was sure that before he went mad from the pain, he would certainly go mad from the sheer sense of violation.

Every fledgling knew that nymph wings were basically a bundle of nerves. It made them the most sensitive part of a nymph's body and made it easier to fly, detect enemies and changes in wind direction and air pressure. It is for this reason that wing touching was very intimate – usually initiated only between family members and mates. Nymphs could understand this well customarily gave each other's wings a wide berth – contact was often undesirable when you could feel it many times more intensely than any other part of yourself. It was reserved for conveyances of love, for mating rituals and for mothers to soothe their children. Now, not only did he get shot through one of them, these ugly humans were touching them. Just touching them like that as his cage-cart passed them.

And he didn't even have anywhere to move to avoid the hands.

He also didn't have the strength to swat them away, and he couldn't, with his hands stuck in the metal thing. His eyes stung, but he hurriedly swallowed the urge to cry. What would that accomplish? Those ugly fools would just be glad to collect his tears. Even if he went mad, he'll endure.

It's…urgh…painful. So painful. But he'll sooner die than let them –

"That's enough."

That voice!

Eren didn't have to look up. That voice alone sent a jolt of terror and apprehension down his spine. He knew that voice. It was the same human from the forest – the one who shot him down.

"Touch it again and I'll have you thrown into the dungeons," the human threatened. The hands instantly recoiled, and the humans looked down in deference. Who was he, that even other humans feared him? Eren turned around, but the human had made his point and had already started moving away.

He was astride a black horse, and was somehow…smaller than Eren had expected. Judging by the condescending voice alone, Eren had thought he would be a bull of a man, as tall as Bertholdt and as broad as Reiner. He was, instead, just slightly broader than Eren himself and probably not much taller, if he was taller at all. He couldn't tell while the human was riding. He held his back perfectly straight (it was so strange to look at a back with no wings…it was like a finger with no nails) and had the strangest of haircuts, with longer strands of hair covering shorter strands underneath. The shorter bits reminded Eren of grass stubs after he cut it, and if the situation had not been so dire, he might have laughed.

But Eren felt like anything but laughing. The horrible wing touching stopped, but rather than feeling an ounce of gratitude, Eren found himself positively seething with anger.

This was the man who'd shot him. Caused him unbearable pain and let him be paraded through the throng of humans like some livestock. Ripped him from his home and stole his freedom. Freaking…shot him through the wing!

Queen Ymir could send fire down upon a person. Eren couldn't, so he was going to rip this man apart with his bare hands.

"Oi!" he yelled at that cursed human.

The sound came from his throat as more of a snarl than a word. The man turned around, and Eren saw his nonchalant face for the first time. Eren glared at him without seeing him at all. He would normally have made an assessment about how he looked, but now, he was so overcome with rage that he registered nothing but his narrow, cold eyes and thin brows.

And even that served to infuriate him further. He wanted to tear the impassive expression right off the man's face.

"I'll kill you!" he managed to growl through his parched throat.

The man stared down at him unblinkingly, not moving a muscle. The air was suddenly deathly still. The crowd went completely silent, apart from the occasional whispers of "oh my goodness, it can speak!"

"I'll kill you," Eren repeated, with less volume but more ferocity.

They say a nymph could register movements much faster than a human, but Eren didn't see it coming at all. Before he knew it, the man had grabbed a fistful of his injured wing, and was crumpling it in his hand.

ARRRRRRRGHHHH!

LET GO!

It HURT! The agony was so consuming, it made getting shot earlier feel like nothing. Eren went completely blind with pain, unable to process anything but the sheer torture of it.

_Just kill me. Just kill me. _

He felt like a glass jar that had been smashed into a million pieces. He felt like he was being ripped limb from limb. How can such pain even exist in the world. How can his mind even register this amount of pain?

_Just kill me. _

That…that BASTARD!

Eren was screaming unreservedly now, although he couldn't hear himself. Maybe there were tears running down his face – he didn't know. His wing felt as it had already been torn off, with only the immense pain assuring him that it was still attached to his back.

"Do you want me to burn this wing?"

The man's voice was very close to his ear. Eren didn't know how he still managed to hear the mocking words through the insane amount of agony he was in, but he did.

"The way your kind burned my family?"

000

**Author's Note:** Oh Eren, I'm so sorry…I'm the evilest person ever. This chapter is so flooded with angst and pain T.T That metal thing is just a handcuff…the Nymphs value freedom above everything else, so Eren had never seen one before. And I'm also really sorry for making Levi so mean. He really hates the nymphs with a passion, so I have to find some way to show it. (You've all figured out that's Levi, right?)

Yes, it's ironic that Levi is called the hunter when it's _Eren's_ surname. I'll explain it all as the story goes along, there's a reason for everything! And thanks so much for reading this chapter, I'm looking forward to your comments/reviews!


	3. What and What not to Care About

Chapter 3

**What and what not to care about. **

"Can I touch it now?"

"No."

"No fair! You haven't let me touch it since we caught it! I want to examine the musculature and circulation in the wings – do you suppose they have a skeleton in those – "

"Shut up, Hanji. You'll kill it with your atrocious 'experiments' before we save the Prince."

"No I won't! I've never killed anything I've experimented on! Besides, we've already gotten the tears when you broke its wing!"

Levi stopped in his tracks.

"I…broke it?"

"It's obviously broken! Look, it's folded at an awkward angle. Poor thing, how could you have been so mean?"

Levi turned to face the creature in the cage. They had finally taken the cage out again. The steel enclosure was originally an artifact on exhibit in the Royal Museum, placed there shortly after the war ended and never touched since. It was one of many used seventeen years ago when nymph hunting was a celebrated sport. It was gilded in bronze, adorned with swirling brass flowers and ornamental gold leaves, meant to accentuate the beauty of the creature trapped within. In the days of nymph hunting, the wealthiest of the wealthy placed live nymphs in this enclosure in the middle of their homes as an extravagant exhibit to impress guests, a symbol of status as well as a harbinger of good luck. Levi remembered wondering, as a young boy living before the days of the Hail, why the cage-makers wasted metal on embellishments when they could have used it to make it _bigger_.

Well. Those were the days he sympathized.

But as his eyes fell on the (wildly thrashing, flaying and struggling) creature in the fancy bird cage, a slightest sense of unease hovered at the peripheries of his consciousness.

No.

He didn't care if he broke its wing or whatever.

He couldn't give a shit.

It's just a trick the human-sized insect was playing on him.

…

… …

Human-sized insect it might be, it still looked remarkably _human_. It could even speak and think like a human. Take away its wings and it's unnatural beauty…it'll be exactly the same as a regular boy, wouldn't it? It had unruly brown hair like a boy, and even angry green eyes. It had the musculature of a teenager, moved like a one and certainly screamed like one.

_It's not human. Get a grip. _

But even at this distance, Levi could see that the cage was way too small to contain a human-sized creature. The nymph inside couldn't even extend its arms and legs all the way, but his squad couldn't take the slim chance of it running away, so they shackled all its limbs just in case. Right now, the creature's persistent pulling at its restraints had caused its wrists and ankles to be so severely chaffed, they were dripping with blood. Although it must hurt to a ridiculous extent, the nymph's wings beat recklessly against the walls of the cage, to the extent there were multiple obvious tears along its delicate length. It was worse near the spot the arrow had passed through. The creature was shrieking at the top of its voice, hollering…well…actual words.

"You wingless freaks! I'll destroy you! I'll tear you all from limb to limb!"

Its voice was hoarse, and yet it kept yelling and thrashing against the bars. Levi grimaced. It had taken a hell lot of effort to transfer the unruly thing from the cage in the cart to its new 'home'. Twice, it hit Levi square in the face, once with its elbow and once with its wing. It gave Hanji a good bite in the arm (the bite wound of which she was currently treating like a sacred tattoo and proudly showing off to Moblit) and Mike a powerful scratch across the chest. Lady Petra had come to help, and she was completely knocked over by the same wing that hit Levi.

Damn, the thing was strong.

But Levi was strong too, and together, the squad of six wrestled it into the fancy cage. Thanks to that, he was now covered in sweat, mostly from the annoying insect. Well, it even _smelled_ like a sweaty teenage boy. And his shirt was stained with the bit of mud that the thing had collected when it fell in the forest.

Disgusting. Utterly disgusting. He'd have to bleach the shirt now, to be sure.

And chaining it up was another huge challenge, though made slightly easier by the fact that the flaying wings were less likely to slap anyone, now that their movement was restricted. After an hour of great effort, they finally got the thing were it was now. They would have tried to stop the din it was making, but none of them had the energy to deal with it anymore (save Hanji). But because of the struggling, the nymph had collected its fair share of injuries. At least the pain of it all had made it finally shed those precious tears, which Lady Petra had collected with relative ease because the creature was too exhausted by that point to even scoot away. (It could have also been because she was much gentler.)

It was an unspeakable relief to all of them when everything was relatively quiet again for a short while. And now, much to Levi's chagrin, it had resumed its crazed thrashing-about. The restraints held, and all the nymph did was to inflict more wounds upon itself.

He didn't like to admit it, but the nymph's hoarse yelling, coupled with the bleeding and its tattered wings, it was a…pitiable sight. As it ran out of energy to rebel once again, Levi could see its shoulders quivering as it crumpled into a heap on the concrete ground. It let out a shaky whimper, attempting to draw its knees up to its chest, but unable to due to the short chains. It settled for wrapping its battered wings around itself as tightly as it could manage and shivering uncontrollably.

_It's cold,_ Levi realized.

It was clothed like a human, but its clothes were obviously meant to be worn only in the warm forest during the day. Now that night had fallen, its thin tunic and reed pants were by far insufficient to conserve bodily heat.

The creature sniffled despondently, but didn't shed any tears.

Well…maybe they should move the cage out of the frigid dungeon for the time being? But where else could they –

Wait.

Hmph.

Why should he bother? After all, the Prince had probably already been given the tears. Rare as it was, they had no need for this insect anymore. The thing could freeze to death, for all he cared.

Insects like these deserved to die, anyway.

The sly creatures used their human-like appearance to deceive him into sympathizing, that's what they did. They were just killers in human skin. And he refused to be tricked.

With all the events of the day, Levi could feel the impending exhaustion-induced headache. He had had _quite_ enough. If the thing could lie down and rest after all the trouble its caused, he deserved his rest too.

He put his hand on Hanji's back, literally shoving the protesting woman out of the room. Slamming the heavy door hard just to dispel the cumulative stresses of the day, he twisted the key in the keyhole, locking the now weakened nymph in complete darkness.

There went the chime for 2 o'clock in the morning.

Now, just WHY hadn't he fallen asleep?!

He should be tired. He'd been out riding the whole day, hunting without a break until Mike's ridiculous nose had picked up the nymph's scent. Then with that mad chase and all the subsequent drama, he should be worn out. He was, in fact. His eyelids were so heavy when he climbed up the dungeon steps, he'd have just slept there if the steps weren't so goddamn _dirty_. If _he_ wasn't so goddamn dirty from all that wrestling earlier on.

But now that he'd taken a good hot bath and changed into clean nightwear, he just couldn't seem to doze off. Was it the residual excitement from the day? Well, he wasn't Hanji, and he wasn't excited in the least.

He tried to burrow deeper into sheets, drawing them up to his chin. It was very warm – a comfortable sensation that would usually coax him into sleep in a matter of minutes. There was something extremely satisfying about thought of being swathed in heat, sheltered from the frosty night air outside…

It was really exceptionally cold tonight.

Wonder if that thing…

Levi closed his eyes, shutting out that thought. Who cared.

But the image of the shivering, badly wounded heap on the floor wasn't easy to chase away. Curse its stupid humanoid exterior. If it were a human, it would have easily broken his heart.

And its whimpers of pain weren't pretended cries to get attention – they sounded real.

Well. Even if they were real, he didn't care.

But what if it really froze…

…

…then Hanji will give it a blanket or something. She cared about insects, that weird woman. Surely, she knew that it was cold too.

But…

…he had the only key to that dungeon room.

Levi wanted to tear out his hair in a fit of frustration. He. Just. Wanted. To. Sleep. Why was it so fucking difficult?

He tried to close his eyes for another ten minutes, but sleep was further away than it had ever been before. With an exasperated sigh and a roll of his eyes (at himself), he slipped on his shoes and his coat. There was a ragged old drape he used to shield his bookcase from dust – dust was the ultimate enemy. He gave it a tug and bundled it in his arms.

He wasn't being sympathetic. He was going to throw the drape out anyway.

Quietly, so as not to disturb the rest of the Palace, he lit an oil lamp and made his way across the dark hallways and down to the cavernous basement. It took him quite a few minutes to descend the narrow steps of the dungeon – it was many floors below and he didn't want to risk slipping and falling on the damp steps. Not that he would.

The long shadows seemed to stretch forever into the distance in the flickering lamp light. The wind gushed through the air vents, cold as ice and moaning like a demented beast. Water dripped from cracks in the wall, leaving the air dank and stale. Levi couldn't help but shiver a little. It was a horrible place to be in at night, even with a squad of warriors.

It was infinitely more horrifying when you were all alone.

Hmph. That thing wasn't even human. He'd be wasting his apprehension, feeling bad for something that didn't have the concept of fear.

But it had shrunk against the cage in the cart when the townspeople had tried to touch its wings. Its bright green eyes had glanced from left to right with extreme disquiet as it attempted to avoid all the hands. Its fists had been clenched tightly, and it had tried to burrow its head into its knees.

Was…

Was it frightened?

If it was frightened then, how much more frightened would it be now, in a freezing, foreign prison with howling wind and no space even lie down properly?

It was hurt all over. And it was probably hungry too, since they'd forgotten to feed it before leaving for the night. Well, to be fair, they didn't know what it ate.

Alright.

He felt bad.

But he wasn't suddenly being a complete saint by checking on it. He hated it not one ounce less. He was just making sure it wasn't dead, or the King will have a fit.

Yes, that was what he was doing.

After what seemed like forever, he finally reached the door. He pushed it open, fully expecting the creature inside to unleash its howling range on him all over again once it saw him. But no sound came.

Oh no. Did it die?

A closer inspection told him that it was still shivering (rather violently), so no, it wasn't dead.

Feeling slightly ridiculous, Levi moved to unlock the beautiful cage. The thing inside couldn't suddenly fly out at him, since it was properly shackled and all. Right now, it seemed to be in a fitful sleep and didn't rouse at any of this. Its wings twitched a little every now and then, reflecting light from the flickering lamp in a way that scattered pretty little shards of light all over the ground. Even Levi couldn't deny it…they were so delicate – so beautiful that it actually hurt to see them broken.

And he…broke them.

That wrenching in his gut felt hideously like guilt.

Its breathing sounded labored in the quiet cell, and its fists were again, tightly clenched. Unceremoniously, Levi dumped the drape on it, not looking where it landed, before locking the cage and marching out.

He did _not_ feel guilty.

And he had started to give a shit about insects. He'd better be done with being a saint, or he'll be opening his study up to homeless people next.

Then he stopped again.

Did he just imagine that, or was it…a cough?

He turned. He didn't cough, so it must have come from that thing.

Something about that cough made his heart clench a little. It was such a human sound.

Nymphs…could cough?

There it was again. He squinted at the creature, but it was still asleep.

It was coughing in its sleep. The weak, choking sound sent a chill of unease up his spine. When a friend or comrade coughed like that, he'd rouse them and call for a doctor at once. But this…

There was a soft clanging of chains as the creature shifted, obviously trying to preserve heat subconsciously. It occurred to Levi that it was…it was another very human thing to do.

It did so many things only humans should be able to do.

For some reason or another, he found himself setting down the lamp and moving to unlock the fancy cage again. He also found himself picking up the drape, flapping it out and actually laying it properly across the shivering figure this time. He must have gone crazy, because he tucked in the edges as well. The nymph snuggled into it immediately, burying half its face into the poor excuse of a blanket.

Ha, this thing. It was like a human child, ridiculously noisy one second and completely docile the next.

Without realizing it, Levi had paused to study its face. He had noticed the tousled brown hair, but hadn't really noticed how it fell artfully over its face. He hadn't really paid attention either to the slightly furrowed brows and long eyelashes. It had a perfectly shaped nose which twitched a little whenever it let out a cough. And it had completely flawless skin, the kind that ladies would kill for, accentuated by the pink flush of cold that was still on its cheeks.

Well.

He'd never studied a nymph at such close range before, although he'd seen many when he was a child. For the first time, he understood why humans went crazy trying to acquire one of these things. They said that unlike a pretty human face, one could never tire of the beauty of a nymph, because their beauty seemed to change and grow every time one gazed upon them. For that reason, perhaps, the nobles are well known to pay a fortune just to sleep with them, and Levi used to be entirely repulsed by the idea.

Now, he was repulsed by the idea, in a completely different way.

He couldn't imagine a thing like that happening to the frail creature before him. He just couldn't. It would be…like pouring cheap ale into fine china, for lack of a better metaphor.

Was this why they were still keeping it here? To sell it to some rich pervert? It hardly mattered that it was male. Its beauty was so ethereal that _that_ could be easily forgotten.

Levi found it quite hard to picture, but that was probably the most accurate description of what fate had in store for this creature. Well, he was just in charge of catching it. He had no control over what happened to it after that – that was the decision of the King.

No, wait.

He was turning into a sentimental fool. He'd been bewitched by the nymphs' splendor, just like the many foolish men before him.

He couldn't care less whatever the hell happened to it.

He _won't fucking care _whatever the _hell_ happened to it.

It was just the lack of sleep turning him into a pathetic softie. He really needed to go and rest and…

…and…it was immortal, wasn't it?

…

It won't ever age and die. It'll be this beautiful for a long time, of not, forever. That meant it had to spend all of eternity as…a slave?

Pft. Slave was a word used to describe _humans_. This thing wasn't worthy of that.

This entire thing was none of his business. And he had no business pitying this creature either. It wasn't worthy of pity, after all its kind had done.

…

He wasn't going to care anymore.

…

Right?

**Author's Note: **

Again, I've made Eren's life a complete and utter hell. Karma will hit me one day.

Haha that aside, Eren's started calling Levi a wingless freak, and Levi's started calling him an insect. Not exactly the most endearing of nicknames.

And yep…Levi has (finally) started to find his conscience. About time. (It's because he doesn't want to give his Eren away to some rich old pervert hahahahaha) Ok, on a more serious note, please don't hate him for hating the nymphs. He had a really good reason, I promise. Anyway he's not so evil now right?

As always, thank you so so much for reading this chapter and leaving lovely comments/reviews! They really make my day, so don't be shy to talk to me! We can revel in our insane love for SnK together 3


	4. The Eyrie

HEY GUEST REVIEWERS! My replies are right at the bottom of this chapter. Sorry for the late replies, and here's your chapter!

000

Mikasa took the pie out of the makeshift stone oven, setting it down quickly on the table to avoid burning her hands. Swiftly, she flew to each window, checking yet again that they were all tightly closed. It wouldn't do to have the others know that she was making human food.

It was not that they'd ever attempt to steal a piece, although she was quite sure they'd do that once they could bring themselves to first try it. It was just that the pie was a human thing, and _that_ itself was not taken well by the Flock. Humans were nasty, ungraceful animals that fed on the flesh of other animals*. Nymphs had no business making or eating their food. They'd throw it out before she could blink, although there was no meat at all in the pie.

Mikasa could proudly say (although, of course, she wouldn't) that she was probably the only one in the entire Eyrie who had tasted meat. Eren's father, who was her father too for all that mattered, had once given her a small strip of what the humans called 'bacon'. She still remembered the flavor. It was salty and felt like rubber when she tried to chew it, but it also had a rich, foreign tang that lingered wonderfully on her tongue for a long time afterwards. He'd also taught her to bake this pie, and although she was only six at that time, she could still remember the steps with great clarity. Which was a good thing, because Eren loved pie.

And she loved making whatever Eren loved.

The pie was huge, but she'd be surprised if there was any left after Eren was done with it. Mikasa felt the corners of her mouth lifting. When Eren was ten, he ate so much that he couldn't fly for a whole night. With the weight of the pie in his stomach, he could only rise a few metres before sinking back down again – it was so amusing to watch. For the first time, Eren actually had to walk to his bed like a civilized nymph, instead of zooming around like he usually did. That didn't stop him from eating equally much again and again, especially when his wings grew strong enough to carry his weight and the pie's easily.

Speaking of Eren, he'd probably not be back until an hour later. And to come to think of it, would he know the way back to the Eyrie in the dark? He'd never been so far before, maybe she should fly out to meet him? What if he…

Well.

She was fretting again, wasn't she?

She really needed to stop being a mother hen. He would be eighteen in a month, and while that was barely more than an infant by Nymph standards, she couldn't treat him like one forever.

She was six years older. The two of them were by far the youngest in their flock of five hundred. (Although Reiner and Bertholdt had fooled Eren into thinking that they were fledglings too, just to make him feel less alone.) No one else was below a hundred years old, as far as she knew. And while they were the fledglings of the flock, everyone took Mikasa very seriously. Only Eren was treated like a child. A very precious child, because children were so rare for their immortal race, but still a child.

Maybe she _had _been too young to raise him, and she'd done something wrong. She'd given more than her best, but she was not a mother, and would never be able to give him the love and happiness only a mother could. If he had been raised by his parents the way a normal fledgling should, would he have turned out differently?

Would he have been so…restless all the time?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a rap on the door. A surge of happiness rose in her chest.

Eren! He was back early!

Mikasa flew to the door, feeling lighter than she had all day. Eren will be so happy to see the –

Oh.

…

It was Marco. Her wings fell a bit, and Marco managed an embarrassed smile.

"Sorry to disturb, but the Queen wants to see you."

"She does?" Mikasa frowned.

Queen Ymir was supposed to be away from the Eyrie on some important business today. If she had come back already, something must have happened.

"The Queen has just returned," Marco continued. "If you'd follow me –"

"But Eren's coming back soon."

Marco gave her a knowing smile and an amused sigh. "You can't refuse to see the Queen, fledgling."

Fledging. Eren hated being called that. But unlike what most people automatically assumed, Mikasa didn't actually mind being called one. It reminded her that she was still young – that she was strong and capable of anything she set her mind to. And coming from someone like Marco, it was more of a term of endearment than an attempt to subdue her.

"It seemed urgent, too," Marco said with a trace of worry.

Mikasa nodded, deftly strapping her thin sword to her waist. It was best to be prepared. While she was the youngest of the Queen's Guard, she was definitely not going to be the weakest. The Queen didn't need a guard, of course. She was many times stronger than the whole Guard combined. Most of the time, the Guard was just a group of errant runners for the Queen, performing tasks and missions the Queen didn't have time for herself.

Whatever it was this time though, Mikasa hoped it would be quick. Eren would be hungry when he got back, and she wanted to eat with him.

It didn't take long to reach the study where Queen Ymir waited – it was just a matter of getting from one end of the Palace to the next. The whole establishment (it couldn't really be called a building) wasn't very large because of the way it was built. Like most Nymph nests, the Palace was fashioned out of a curious mixture of stone and ancient trees. The gigantic trees were sung to** by bards like Marco, such that they grew in the shape of pillars, while floors, ceilings, balconies and decorative structures were made of limestone and marble. It was delicate but strong, beautiful but natural – a place of immense splendor made with love and reverence by many generations of Nymphs before her.

She remembered how she wept with wonder the first time she saw it. And she could never be more grateful to the Queen for letting Eren and herself stay in it as servants when their parents perished. When they were younger, they earned their keep by helping with some of the menial tasks of the Palace. Later on, the Queen took a liking to her and made her a member of her elite Guard, while Eren was placed in training. He still helped out in the kitchen or ran little errands for the Queen…whenever he wasn't picking a fight with Marco's mate (Jean), that is.

Marco landed on the small porch before the door to the Queen's study, folding his wings before knocking gently.

"Come in," said a familiar voice.

Mikasa entered, bowing. When she looked up again, she saw that the Queen was still in her travel clothes – an simple grey tunic under a black cloak, with black breeches and sturdy leather boots. Her daily clothes weren't much fancier, although silver or gold embroidery would line her collar and sleeves, and maybe the tips of her slippers. Usually, the only way to identify her royalty would be the ruby circlet she didn't wear today. She was watching the sunset from her balcony as Mikasa came in.

She turned, the amber light giving her olive skin an ethereal sheen. She was tall and regal, commanding and beautiful – just like the Palace she lived in.

"Ah, Mikasa," she said, a small smile gracing her striking features. She seemed barely older than Mikasa herself – it could be an effect of the freckles on her face. But Mikasa knew that she was ancient – many ages more ancient than anyone else in the flock, more ancient than the Palace itself.

"Is there anything I can do for you, your Majesty?" Mikasa asked, feeling slightly unsettled. She might be a fledgling, but she knew Queen Ymir better than anyone else.

And whenever the Queen smiled like that, something was wrong.

"Nothing at all," the Queen replied. She paused, walking across the large room and back again.

"Actually, I would like you to…forgive me."

…

"Your…Majesty?"

What was she saying? Like many of the Nymphs who had lived for centuries, the Queen often spoke cryptically, taking much joy in confusing her people with mischievous riddles. But because she was always beside the Queen, Mikasa could understand what she meant most of the time.

Not now, though.

"You see, I sent Eren on a task this morning," the Queen continued. "To deliver a message to the outpost near the south border."

She did?

Well!

That little tricky thing, he didn't say a thing to her about this! He told her he was going to towards the west, and she had thought it was safe!

"He…he never told me," Mikasa admitted.

She almost wanted to be angry at the Queen, but she knew she couldn't. Why would the Queen send him though, of all people? Didn't she know he was the youngest and most vulnerable of them all? She didn't know what to think about this.

"Figured he won't," the Queen replied with a wry smile. If it were about anything else, Mikasa would have shared her amusement. But this was about Eren, and _something was wrong. _

"He's supposed to be back soon," Mikasa said, feeling a bitter taste rise up her throat. Her heart was pounding uncomfortably. Yes, something was terribly, terribly wrong. If it were not, the Queen wouldn't call her here.

Did he get injured? Did he get lost? Mikasa wanted to fly out this very moment, but she didn't even know where he was.

The Queen sighed.

"Yes, he was _supposed_ to be back. But you see, Mikasa…"

Mikasa could hear her breathing speed up. Her wings rose, they way they always did when she was extremely anxious.

"What?" she demanded, forgetting that she was speaking to the Queen.

The Queen turned away from her, her hand stiffly by her side, her fists tightly clenched. Mikasa had never seen her do that before…or show any sign of distress, for that matter.

What could have happened to disturb even the Queen?

Each second was killing her. The room was drenched in warm sunlight, but it suddenly felt so cold. She almost didn't want to know. She didn't even feel fear or anxiety – she felt an empty, hollow sensation that could only be dread. She didn't hear the words that came from the Queen's mouth, she felt them in the air.

"He'd been taken away by humans."

_He'd been taken away by humans. _

Mikasa waited for everything to come crashing down on her, but it didn't.

In fact, nothing moved at all, not even her own heart, it seemed. Time stopped around her, freezing her breath, her mind, her ability to reason.

Maybe she'll try to wake up. She was dreaming again – she dreamed of things like this often, unpleasant as it was. And it had gotten to the point where it was terrible though.

Time to wake up.

Why wasn't she waking up?

She shut her eyes and clamped her hands around her head, trying to drag herself through many layers of consciousness until she finally awoke. She was used to doing this, anyway. After a while, she opened her eyes.

But all she saw was the Queen standing before her, in the same room.

She was still not awake?

The Queen was reaching into her pocket. When her hand re-emerged, she held a transparent shard that was a particular shade of green. A shade of green that was so familiar, it hurt every part of Mikasa to look at it.

A piece from Eren's wing. In fact, Mikasa could tell that it was from his right wing.

The Queen's quiet, soothing voice sounded shrill and painful to Mikasa's ears. She was saying something with an urgent look in her eyes, but Mikasa couldn't hear anything. She couldn't hear anything at all.

Nothing was real. None of this was happening.

Dream or not, the Queen was playing a joke on her that had gone too far. Eren would be back very soon, all tired and sweaty, gushing about his trip away from the Eyrie. He would eat the pie ravenously, and she would tuck him into bed. Everything will be alright.

Everything MUST be alright. There was no alternative.

The Queen placed the wing shard in her hand, and Mikasa stared at it without seeing it. It didn't exist. It wasn't Eren's wing.

It wasn't.

"I sent him there, hoping in vain that he could out-fly them. I knew he couldn't, and yet I still did it."

She sent him there? Ridiculous. She didn't often dream of incoherent, impossible things, but it seemed that today was an exception.

"I'm sorry Mikasa. I had no other choice. What I did cannot be forgiven, but I am still sorry."

What was she talking about? There was a tear on the Queen's cheek. She was…crying? Even if this was a dream (which it definitely was), she had seen the impossible. Nymphs almost never shed tears. To see one crying was a rarity in itself, and to see the Queen crying…no one would ever see the Queen crying.

But the Queen _was_ crying. And she had placed a hand on Mikasa's shoulder, her tear stained eyes glazed and tormented. Somewhere at the back of her mind, Mikasa thought that she _should be_ crying too, but she couldn't figure out why.

None of this was real anyway. Why should she cry?

Eren would be back soon. He'll be back.

Eren…

"I had intended this to happen," the Queen said. "I gave Eren to the humans."

000

_*Note: Nymphs don't eat meat, they believe that they shouldn't cause pain to an animal when they can just eat plants for sustenance. They will resort to hunting though, in times of severe shortage. Because of this, bow-making and archery is more of an art than a sport for them._

_**Also, Nymphs sing to trees and plants to make them grow in certain ways fit for dwelling. They don't believe in forcefully chopping wood to make places to live, but instead, coaxing nature to suit their needs. This is inspired by the practices of the Elves from the Inheritance Trilogy (Christopher Paolini). They have no need for staircases, so they only have a small landing in front of every room. _

000

**Author's Note: **Oh the horror! I told you guys things aren't so simple, right? Eren was deliberately given away to live a horrible life (poor thing) – he wasn't caught because he was careless. Time to stop blaming Levi haha. And poor Mikasa too…she is in such a state of shock, she doesn't even register that all this is real.

Anyway, thanks so much for suffering through this chapter, I know it was long and uneventful. I just wanted you guys to see what living as a nymph was like! It's a good life, really. As always, comments/reviews would be very much appreciated :) Thanks for reading this chapter!

**Guest Reviewers:**

Catherine: Oh I love, love it so much! This is probably the best Ereri AU I've ever read. The universe setting is perfect, since Eren is a Titan-shifter in canon, so I can easily imagine Levi thinks like that about him. Please update soon! I can't wait to read what will happen next.

**Me:** Thank you! Aww that's the best compliment I've received, you have no idea how happy it makes me :D Thanks for reading it and hope you'll continue to enjoy it as the story progresses!

**Guest:** uwaaa update as fast as you can your righting has me intrigued like looking at a nymph i love it! and levi you little bastered just love him already!

**Me:** Hahahaha yep Levi is a bastard right now, but he'll become a loveable person, I promise :) thanks for reading this fic!

**Drak Flame**: So gooooooooddddd no i mean like WOW YOU ARE A GOOD WRITER. Can you update faster. I can't wait for more. I like levi so far. He really have a good heart. Sorry if my grammar is not right, english is not my language.

**Me:** It's alright, your English is quite ok! Thank you so much! I wish I could update faster too, but my exams are coming up, and I have to prepare for them. I'll update more frequently after these 2 weeks are over, I promise!

**Veraaurelis: **I've prepared myself for the pain Eren was going to go through (as a captured nymph and all) but this! Oh my poor boy! *cries* Damn it Levi, you better get your head together soon. Great chapter, very intense, I'll be waiting for more!

**Me:** I know right…I've prepared myself for writing this too…but I still ended up with an incredible heartache. Levi's getting his head together now, although it's going to take some time! Love doesn't come easily har har. Anw, thanks for reading this! I'm so terribly sorry about Ashes…but I'm really glad you liked this new one!

**LinkyOkumura37:** Yet again, AMAZING chapter! Updates updates updates ;P Oh, and one question. Are nymphs human-sized or smaller because in the last chapter I thought they were smaller, but it sounded like they were the same size.…

Me: Oh…nymphs are the exact same size as humans…sorry if it wasn't clear in the earlier chapters! Sorry for the late reply…you were the first reviewer, and I'll be eternally grateful to you for that haha :) Thank you so much for reading this fic, and glad you liked it!


	5. A Life for a Life

Chapter 5 – A life for a life

When a person reclaims something dear which he had previously lost, relief is seldom his predominant emotion. When he receives it from the returner, he sees it as a gift, not as a repossession of what he once owned. He has no words to phrase his gratitude, and there is nothing he can give to equal the treasure he has begotten. If the lost thing was dear him before, it becomes many times more precious. It turns the worst crooks into good men as they await a day in which they may pass on this beautiful gratitude.

Armin didn't consider himself a crook, but he certainly can relate to that feeling. Someone had given him back his life. And along with that gift, he had also been given back his eyesight – more than he dared to hope for.

He had opened his eyes this morning, expecting to see nothing but white. He had been seeing white for so long, he had almost forgotten what the world looked like without it. That's why they called it the White Pollen. At first, your vision would be obscured by white flecks which resembled fine powder. As the disease progressed, those flecks eventually joined to form a screen of glaring brightness that blocked out everything else. When the White Pollen first struck, those infected initially thought they were on their way to Heaven after a prolonged period of fever – wasn't Heaven supposed to be made of pure white? It was only when they felt themselves gradually weakening did they realize that they were still very much on earth, wasting towards their inevitable deaths.

Maybe this eventual blindness could be considered a gift – the infected won't see their loved ones weeping for them.

He did see Historia bawling her eyes out though, when he came to after his fever-induced sleep. His timid younger twin was thanking the gods (known and unknown) with a fervor he didn't think her capable of. It hurt to see tears in her lovely eyes, even if they were tears of joy. Even if it must have hurt her so much more to watch him slowly withering away, week after week.

"You were too far gone to even drink," she had told him tearfully, still refusing to loosen her embrace even after a whole thirty minutes.

The physicians had been about to give up. He wasn't conscious enough to swallow. It was tragic really, to have finally obtained a miracle, only to have the patient too ill to make use of it. Doctor Hanji had barged in at the last possible minute, hollered furiously at her colleagues at the top of her voice for their foolishness, and chugged the precious tears into her syringe. Amidst outraged protests and the sheer horror of all her onlookers, she injected the solution into his arm before anyone could shove her away. It had never been done before, and the unnatural solution in his bloodstream could very well have been useless, or worse, killed him immediately. Not that it would have made any difference, at that point. But she would have lost her head (literally), for the murder of the Prince.

Armin felt more relieved for her than for himself that it did work, after all. She might have never had a sane moment in her life, but she was his most trusted doctor, and a close friend. She taught him most of things he knew, and would have been almost like the mother he never had if she wasn't so young and so…wild. And if he were certain that she was indeed a woman. But she had saved more lives than he had books (and that was really saying something), and he didn't want his father to make the mistake of executing the best physician in the Kingdom in a fit of anger.

He could thank Hanji properly with a gift of a new laboratory, or making her Head Physician when he became King. But there was someone else he owed his life to, and he didn't have a clue what he could possibly do in return. This was what sent him inching down the stairs to the dungeon, wheezing from the still-weak state brought about by many weeks of illness. Of course he wasn't allowed to be there – he was supposed to be recovering in bed. His caretakers would tear out their hair when they realized that the Prince was missing. But for now, Armin desperately wanted to see what his savior looked like, even just for the sake of conveying a very earnest "thank you".

He had followed Hanji up and down the dungeon steps as a child (secretly, of course) and wasn't taken aback by the dungeon's sheer depth, dampness and cold. That didn't mean he was any more comfortable. It was, without doubt, the most horrible place he knew. A hellhole that hasn't seen sunlight for centuries, frigid as midwinter and crawling with the most resistant of insects and rats. They hardly even kept murderers here anymore – no one could commit a crime deserving of a stay this nightmare of a place.

So why have they kept the Nymph here?

Armin stopped himself before he could get angry.

Well, it could be very dangerous. Or perhaps wild, uncivilized and incommunicable. It may have been such a threat that they had to keep it here, or it might…who knows…send another hail upon them? They were infamous swift killers, after all. He wasn't a fool enough to think the creature saved his life willingly – the tears were probably a product of prolonged torture. Even so, he had to go see it. If it wasn't civilized enough to accept his thanks, he could at least acknowledge its sacrifice with a salute and a bow it wouldn't understand.

And maybe one day, when no one was watching, set it free.

If the dungeon was where it would be locked for the rest of its life, it was just too much for Armin to bear. The nymph didn't deserve to be here – even if it were extremely useful.

He didn't have a plan, but someway or another, he'll train the nymph until it didn't attack humans on sight, and smuggle it back into the forest. Everyone would be outraged, but even his father wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

He just hoped it won't die of misery first. That could be possible – animals often died quickly in captivity, especially when they were put through constant intense pain. The thought of it was so horrible that Armin almost slipped on a step. It would be all his fault – they caught it for him, after all. He must release it fast –

"…such pretty…who cares if…"

"…haha! I'd just…"

Disjointed voices echoed off the damp walls, mixed with occasional alarming cries of distress. Coupled with the coldness of the dungeon, the cries chilled the young prince to the bone. He quickened his steps, ignoring his exhaustion. Something was very wrong.

Were the guards torturing the nymph for fun? Was that why there were sounds of laughter? He clenched his fists inside the pockets of his coat. If that were the case, those good-for-nothing barbarians were in for a rather unpleasant time. In the dungeons. Just to give them a taste of their own medicine.

The door to the cell was ajar, and Armin caught himself before he flung it open. If he wanted to see exactly what hideous activities they were up to, a peek would be much better.

…

Did…

Did he just think 'hideous'?

Well. There had better be another word which described something infinitely more hideous than 'hideous'.

The scene he found himself witnessing shouldn't even happen in hell.

The first thing he saw was brilliant green, of a shade too beautiful for this terrible dungeon. He saw the nymph…no…it was not a creature, it was a _boy_. There was a boy with green wings, lying in an elaborate gold cage. His skin was mottled with bruises and cuts, and his wrists and ankles were bleeding. He didn't look any older than Armin was. He was speaking in a choked voice. It was so hoarse, strained and weak, but Armin could hear every word with resounding clarity.

"Don't you…dare touch me…"

Next, he saw the reason for those desperate words. There were four figures huddled around him, their hands reaching keenly into the cage, grasping, pulling, clawing. The winged boy raised his arms to fend them off, but the chains around his wrists were too short for him to do much. One guard grabbed the collar of the boy's tunic, tearing with brute force until it split.

"Come on," another guffawed, ripping the rest of the tunic away. "Show us you're not actually a girl."

The boy looked as if he were about to fall apart from pain and exhaustion. He was so battered – just how long had this been going on? He never stopped fighting though, not even for a gasp of breath. Against his numerous metal restraints, he kicked and twisted with futile resolve.

"Get…your filthy…hands…"

The rest of what the boy had been about to say was cut short by a strangled scream as the third guard pulled one of his wings.

"You even scream like a girl, huh," the fourth sneered, proceeding to undo the boy's belt.

And that was about as much as Armin was going to watch.

He had contemplated bringing his smallest blade with him before coming to the dungeon, in case the nymph was absolutely wild and tried to attack him. He decided not to, because that was not a good way to show gratitude. Now he was incredibly glad he hadn't, because he wouldn't have been able to stop himself from castrating and gutting those lecherous bastards right there. His father might worry that his temperament was too gentle to ascend the throne in the future, but right now, Armin felt anything but gentle.

He was not well acquainted with anger, especially anger of this intensity. The bitter taste of wrath in his mouth was very foreign. It did snap him back into reality though, and he found himself throwing the heavy door back with such force that it splintered as it hit the wall. The thump was resounding, and all the four scumbags jumped out of their skins.

And for once in his life, Armin didn't let himself think.

He plucked a nearby wooden chair off the ground, and in the same movement, threw it upon pure impulse at the nearest guard. It was a light chair, but it was still a chair. The poor bastard never saw it coming – it gave him a broken nose before knocking him cold. The chair crashed against the wall, one of its legs falling cleanly off.

And for once (again) in his quiet, shy life, Armin didn't even notice the din. He strode forward, his rage keeping him in a trance. He could feel his fury gathering like an imminent storm. His hands were shaking before, but now they were still.

The three mongrels looked on, horror plain on their pasty faces.

"Your Highness!" they squeaked, falling first to their knees, then to their faces. Their shoulders shook with genuine terror. They looked to be in their twenties – possibly young enough that it was their first time having a direct encounter with royalty. Armin almost felt sorry for them.

"You will go to the bottom of the dungeon stairs," he said, surprising himself by how cold his voice sounded to his own ears. Some clarity returned to his brain then. Was…was he doing this right?

Well, it was too late to go back now.

"And stand there until I think of a befitting punishment," he pressed on, after a full pause. He hoped they didn't catch his hesitation.

They didn't. The spineless cowards looked so dismayed, it was actually amusing. The protest was on their lips, but a hard glare and a firm step forward sent them scurrying out of the door without another word. Armin couldn't blame them. The guards often whispered amongst themselves that the dungeon was bottomless. But Armin knew there was an end to the stairs, and he knew people went mad there. And after his very unusual display of violence, the poor bastards must have thought him too merciless and fearsome to defy.

Fearsome? Him?

He looked at his hands, then at the chair in the corner. Had he just done that? The King's quiet son, who was too weak to draw a bow? He'd never even so much as yelled at servants, much less throw a chair. Something had come over him.

Maybe he did have it in him to become King one day.

With the imbeciles of guards gone (or slumped in a corner), he hurried to the boy in the glittering cage. He faltered for a fraction of a second when it finally registered that this boy…this nymph was _male_, when all nymphs are supposed to be female. Were there others like him?

Was he even a nymph in the first place? He looked…much more human than Armin had expected.

He looked perfectly human, in fact. Or rather, he looked like a perfect human, with skin too fine and features too well-balanced to be real. His wings merged seamlessly into his bruised skin, light green at the roots, melding into cyan near the sparkling tips. They were broken and badly torn, but so much of their splendor remained that for a moment, Armin forgot to breathe. Battered and wounded as he was, this boy was more stunning than the illustrations in Armin's finest books. He was a nymph alright.

How did one converse with a nymph? In any case, he had to try.

"Hey," Armin said, reaching into the cage. The boy's emerald eyes were glazed with pain, but he recoiled sharply, as if burnt.

"Don't touch me!" he hissed. His voice cracked as he drew himself into a compact ball. Armin drew back too, suddenly unsure again. The nymph was terribly frightened, and as a result, completely unapproachable.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he said, as gently as he could. He tried to reach out again, but the boy withdrew further, gasping as his wounds scraped against the rough floor.

"That's what you all say," he gritted, trying to sit up. Of course, he didn't succeed. He was so badly hurt all over that he couldn't even manage a focused glare. He coughed twice, spitting out a traces of blood. Armin tensed, quite alarmed.

This was no joke. The boy needed help. Now.

But as Armin started forward, he was even more alarmed to see tears running down the nymph's cheeks. Nymph tears. Armin looked at them, unable to move. Entire kingdoms could not equal their value.

"Don't come near me." The boy was begging now, his choked voice full of agony. "Please. Take the tears if you want. Don't…hit me anymore."

Armin would never admit later that he felt his own tears threatening to spill at that tormented plea. Nymphs were the proudest creatures in the world. It was their pride that had sent the hail, and it was their pride that made them beautiful. What had they done to him, to make him beg like this?

He didn't care if this boy wasn't human, or that he shouldn't deserve to be treated like one. He didn't care if nymphs were supposed to be animals with no feelings. He was going to find every single last guard who ever touched this creature, and make them pay.

Despite the boy's weakening cries, Armin put his hands on the boy's forehead. It was hot – unnaturally hot. His whole body was burning up. Almost as a confirmation of his suspicions, the boy coughed again, harder this time.

He was dangerously ill. Probably from the cold of the dungeon, and the torture he had been put through for the whole day. If this nymph died, it would not be the guards' fault. It wouldn't even be his father's fault. It would be his fault, all his fault. He had caused this beautiful creature to be put through utter hell, and he had never felt so rotten in his life. Forget about thanking this boy – nothing Armin did would even _compensate_ for the damage he had caused.

What was he going to do now?

Armin put his face close to the boy's, their cheeks touching through cold bars of the cage. He didn't care if nymphs were supposed to be scheming and dangerous. All he saw was a broken, badly hurt boy who shouldn't even be here.

"I'm Armin," he said, desperately trying to convey his sorrow, his gratitude and his anger through the simple touch. "You saved my life."

The boy had lost the energy to resist anymore. His eyelids opened and closed repeatedly, as if he were trying his very best to stay conscious.

"What's your name?" Armin asked, barely bothering to hide his tears anymore. His heart was breaking. He wasn't sure why he asked that; he wasn't even sure nymphs had names. And he wasn't sure why the boy replied. Maybe he was too much in pain, maybe he couldn't tell hallucination from reality anymore.

"Eren," the boy said faintly.

Despite everything, Armin felt his heart swell. The nymph had told him his name. He knew it he shouldn't hope, but it was almost as if the boy had accepted his gratitude.

"Listen, Eren. You're going to be alright. You _have_ to hang in there, do you hear me?"

The boy gave a barely perceptible nod, his head lolling to one side as he spit out more blood.

"I'm going to get Doctor Hanji, right now. And one day, I'm going to get you out of here. It's a promise."

000

**Author's Note:** It's not turning Eremin…I swear it's not. And I also swear, after this chapter, I'm truly done with torturing Eren. I can't take it anymore. My poor baby, I literally cried while writing this chapter. Eren is not weak and I'm not making him OOC. It's just that in that situation, anyone would break, and I wanted to show just what scumbags humans are.

And lol at Armin stealing Mikasa's badass moment with all that chair throwing and door slamming. He's so frightened inside, but he still did it. He's more confident than he is in the canonverse, because he grew up as a prince. Armin's never a wimp to me, and I wanted to write him the way I see him.


	6. The Past, Steeped in Fire (Part 1)

**GUEST REVIEWERS for Ch 3-5!**

**My replies to your reviews are at the end of this chapter :)**

Chapter 6 – The Past, Steeped in Fire

(Part 1)

Ever since they brought the nymph here yesterday, it seemed that Levi never had a minute of rest. He wasn't very old, but he felt too old for this kind of excitement. He looked at the unconscious creature in the bed. First Prince Armin, then the nymph. Was it fashionable to be on the brink of death these days?

He was going to have a _very good talk_ with Auruo.

Levi had handed the keys over to the younger hunter at three in the morning to catch some much-needed rest, but not without particularly stressing that he should _never_ let any guards into the cell itself. The guards were to stand _outside _the cell, because Levi just knew this would happen. Nymphs had always been notoriously and painfully tempting. It would be too much to expect hormonal young men to keep their hands to themselves, so they had to be kept away from the nymph.

Trust Auruo to _completely forget the warning_ and hand the four _amateur bastards_ the key. Of course curiosity drove them to let themselves into the cell, and once in, their _dicks_ took over their heads. The smartest thing he'd ever done in his life, Levi thought, was to not hand Auruo the key to the cage itself. He'd barely gotten three hours' rest before Hanji pounded on his door resoundingly enough to wake the entire Palace, requesting – no – demanding that he get the nymph out of the cage, to the infirmary.

He swore the fact that he was the only one with the key.

When the creature wasn't thrashing about hysterically, it was actually quite light in Levi's arms. Its fine skin was flushed with fever, and it shivered violently. More than once, on the tiresome trip up the dungeon steps, had it unconsciously tried to snuggle up against Levi for some warmth. It was difficult enough to scale the endless stairs carrying it without constantly trying to pry it off him at the same time. Towards the top, he just gave up, earning very surprised glances from the guards and servants along the halls as he passed by. Lord Levi, quite well known for loathing anything nymph-related, with a nymph clinging tightly onto him. Not a sight you'd see everyday.

Hanji was sniggering to herself on the whole trip up. Levi really didn't see anything amusing about the situation – the nymph was dying and he was sleep deprived enough to kill. God knows what went on in her mind all day.

Getting the little shit to let go once at the infirmary was another challenge. They couldn't manhandle it too roughly – it would aggravate its already terrible injuries. Levi would never have thought the skinny lightweight would be so ridiculously resistant to the doctors' many attempts at pulling it away from him. All it did was to cling on even tighter to Levi in its fever-induced delirium, saying 'Mikasa' over and over again. It took sometime for Levi to guess what that was…probably the name of another nymph. Someone this brat was close to.

"I'm not Mikasa," he grunted, and after a while, the nymph let go.

Hanji just stood aside and giggled more as she injected some of her dubiously colored solutions into the nymph.

By the gods, he was never going to have anything to do with the nymph again. He was never having anything to do with anything anymore. There was blood, snot and sweat all over him (again, how wonderful), and he was at the very limits of his patience. He was going to get some _sleep_ and –

Except that the King had chosen that very moment to arrive at the infirmary to get a look at the nymph himself, and Levi couldn't leave before the King.

Just his rotten luck, as always. King or not, this had better be quick.

"Look, Erwin!" Hanji chirped, full of goddamn energy. The other doctors jumped back, giving her looks of utter horror. The crazy woman had utterly no concept of formalities or authority, and strangely, the King let her be. Exceptional allowances for exceptional lunatics.

"How is it?"

"Alright now. Fever's come down, it'll pull through."

"His name is Eren," Prince Armin supplied, getting up from his chair.

Ha, how _adorable_ – it seemed that the Prince had even named it. He had always been affectionate, and he seemed to have taken quite a liking to this creature. Maybe he felt indebted to it, or maybe he was smitten by its beauty. It was probably the latter. He was a young man, after all.

But the sound of the name left a bitter taste in his throat, like the name of someone from a distant, terrible nightmare he couldn't quite remember. Eren. Maybe he knew someone he detested by that name in the past. How fitting the Prince gave this insect the same name, then.

"I didn't name him, Eren _is_ his name," the Prince insisted, perceptive as always.

Tch.

The crafty little insect probably realized it was dying, and came up with a lie to win the sympathy of the kind Prince. Because Nymphs didn't have names, and after all, what use would mere animals have for names? But Prince Armin didn't catch his scoff, because he had turned his attention to the King.

"Now that I'm well again," the Prince began. He twisted the corner of his shirt with his fingers, they way he always did when he was a little uncertain. "And there's really no one else with the White Pollen…"

He trailed off, hesitating and twisting his shirt more vigorously. The King gave a knowing smile.

"You want to own it?" he guessed.

Levi wasn't surprised at all. With the exception of himself perhaps, he was sure every man in the Kingdom wanted this beautiful little brat. It was a nymph, for heaven's sake. Male or not, no woman could equal its allure. And there was hardly anything more valuable in the world than a creature who could heal any ailment.

The Prince shook his head fervently, but couldn't seem to find it in himself to say anything more.

The silence stretched on.

"I…want to set it free, Father," he finally said.

_What?_

The still air was only broken by a collective, almost outraged gasp.

Now, just _what_ did he say?

Set it free? _Set it free?_

It was an outrage indeed. Gods, it seemed that the fever from the White Pollen had caused some damage to the Prince's mind, after all. Set a _fucking nymph_ free? Did he even know what he was saying? It was almost a relief to see everyone else in the room gawking at the Prince the way Levi did – at least he could be sure he didn't hear it wrongly. What sort of request was this? Why would he ever…?

The King gave no reply, but it didn't take a genius to figure out his answer. Nymphs should have been impossible to catch – many even thought they'd died off after the hail. Because of their rarity, each tear was worth generations of fortunes – their Kingdom could easily be the wealthiest in the world. Those who could afford it could live full lives without suffering the pain of disease at the expense of this creature's pain. Even if the King were insane enough to set it free, there would be an uncontainable uproar amongst the nobility. It was like finding an enormous gem, and burning it to ashes right after. The people would riot the streets after finding out that they would never save their loved ones. King Erwin would look like an negligent tyrant who only cared for the life of his own son, and not those of the rest of his people.

Didn't the Prince know this? Just…_what_ was he thinking?

But the King simply nodded at the servants and doctors – a cue for them to leave the room. He raised his hand to stop Hanji from leaving, though. He cleared his throat.

"You can have it if you want it, Armin," he said. His eyes had become steely and unreadable. "But I cannot, and will not, send it back. And I won't even give it to you if you're intending to let it fly back to the forest."

As expected.

Prince Armin must have expected this too, for he looked at his feet, his shoulders falling.

"I understand," he murmured, visibly shrinking. Levi had heard from a very astonished Hanji how the very same Prince threw a chair at the guards. Was that the same person as the uncertain boy standing beside him? It was hard to believe.

But Prince Armin took a deep breath and continued.

"But I could never own him – he's just like one of us, can't you see, Father? He feels pain and anger the way we do, he speaks like us…he even has a name."

He stopped to look at the sleeping nymph, shaking his head slowly.

"Even if I did own him, I'll never be able to protect him. He still belongs first and foremost to the Kingdom, and I can't stop what the people will do to him. There'll be those who lust for his tears, and there'll be those who'll just lust for him. You know what I saw in dungeon? Those guards were…I can't even say it."

Levi could hear Hanji muttering vulgarities not-so-quietly under her breath. He too didn't bother to conceal the immediate scowl he was sure had revealed itself on his face. Talk about disgusting behavior…he wasn't even quite sure how such scumbags managed to make their way to the ranks of the guards.

If the Prince wasn't going to deal with them appropriately, _he_ was.

"The people are going to torture him, and he's going to _die_, Father. He's a nymph – he's supposed to live forever, not die in captivity. He saved my life! How can I stand to watch this?"

"I can't stand it either," Hanji declared, forthright as always.

Well, the Prince did have a point, but…

Levi could feel his brain slowly shutting down from exhaustion. Maybe the lack of sleep was confusing him, making him more agreeable to this proposal than he should be. The King got up from his chair.

"I can't send it back," he repeated, stoic as ever.

Of course. There was a prolonged pause as the Prince considered this.

"Have you no heart, Father?" he muttered after a while, not looking at anybody.

Hanji shot a baffled look at him. Levi was sure his own face looked very much the same. He…didn't just say that, did he?

Something about this nymph was causing him to act very distinctly contrary to his ordinary temperament. Levi braced himself for the King's outrage at this audacity, but it never came.

Instead, the King gave a long sigh and ran his hand wearily through his neatly combed hair.

"On the contrary, Armin, it's because I have a heart that I can't do it. You see, all I kept saying was that I can't send it back. I never said I wanted it to die, or be in captivity, for that matter."

…

Silence.

Himself, Armin, Hanji – they were all highly intelligent people, if he could say so himself. But at this moment, it was clear that no one understood. Did he mishear? It was possible – he was certainly tired enough.

But no captivity? Just…how? Was the nymph supposed to fly about their cities and streets like that? Once you let it out of its cage, it'll wreck havoc before heading straight for the forests.

"How does that work?" Hanji said, frowning.

"I will explain in due time," the King replied, gesturing for her to sit down. His tone turned very serious, and Levi forcefully dragged himself out of his exhaustion induced daze.

"But first, I am going to say something which I only trust you three with. You cannot repeat what you hear now to anyone else, am I clear?"

There were doubtful nods all round.

"Alright. Levi, when you were hunting this nymph, didn't you think it was easier than it should have been?"

Hmm. Was it?

"It's younger and weaker than most, and was quite conveniently near the border," Levi conceded, not sure where this was going.

"I don't mean to discount your hunting skills, Levi, but you were actually sent to collect a gift, rather than to kidnap a nymph from its home. That would have been nigh impossible, even with your skills."

Gift? Well. He had the feeling that he should have been shocked at hearing this, but somehow, he was not.

He was definitely just too tired. He hadn't much time to think about it since the nymph was caught, but if he did…maybe he would have found that it was much too easy as well.

"Someone has put him there, Sire?" he asked cautiously.

Even as the words left his mouth, he realized that they sounded ridiculous. Who in their right minds would possibly gift a nymph? Nobody even had a nymph to give – neither the Kingdom of Rose nor the Kingdom of Maria had better luck at nymph hunting over these years.

"The Nymph Queen," the King said.

?

…

He must have heard something wrongly.

"I beg your _pardon_, Sire?

The King gave a humorless laugh, looking just as tired as he did when Prince Armin was dying of the White Pollen. Then again, he always looked tired.

"Yes, the Queen. And Levi, do you remember Carla?"

Carla? What did a random woman's name have to do with all of this? He wanted to know how on earth the Nymph Queen could have sent one of their own away without a fight. He certainly didn't remember any Carla.

What was the King getting at now? Hanji didn't clearly didn't understand either, for she clicked her tongue impatiently. Prince Armin had a glazed look of utter confusion on his face.

But the King was adamant.

"I know you don't like it, but think back to the day of the hail. You were only ten years old at that time, and you came to me after your family perished, insisting on one thing, although no one believed you. Do you remember what that is?"

He did?

Wait…

Carla.

CARLA!

She was a nymph, wasn't she?

He was a boy then. He had said something repeatedly to the adults, but no one believed it. The young King believed him, though. What had he told the King that day?

_You've all got it wrong. The nymph Queen didn't send the hail. Carla did. Carla killed my parents._

Levi stared at the King, seeing the same sorrow reflected in his eyes. It had been seventeen whole years, but he could feel it again. The agony of the flames on his skin, the demented green eyes of a crazed female nymph by the name of Carla. She was in a golden cage, tearing at her own skin, yelling the same thing over and over again.

"Give Eren back! Give my child back to me!"

Eren.

_Eren._

The blood, the screams. The balls of fire from the sky, as hot as the sun.

A mother's fury, as hot as the sun.

His throat was dry, and he couldn't quite remember how to speak.

"Carla was the nymph who sent the hail," he said.

He looked at the nymph lying in bed, mere inches away from him.

"And Eren…was the baby she burned an entire city protect."

**Author's Note:** The plot's FINALLY starting to move, omg. I'm so sorry for the late update, I was busy with the artwork that I'm gonna sell at the next few conventions :) As always, I've put in a lot of effort into this story, and your comments/reviews will really make it worthwhile!

**Replies to Reviews:**

Veraaurelis: Well I certainly didn't see that coming...*shocked* But! I'm not going to judge Queen Ymir right now, though I suspect her reason won't be so noble! Poor Mikasa...somehow I have a feeling she'll burst into the human settlement and kill everyone or something, lol. (but wait till Eren and Levi get together first kay?)

I really appreciate the background on the nymphs, it was very interesting! I love the way you describe how their architecture work and everything. So Mikasa and Eren are around 20 while the rest are 100 year old? No wonder they're treated as children. If Mikasa's a guard already, then she's gotta be SUPER skilled. (isn't she already?) And Grisha Jaeger knows how to make human food? Something smells fishy! Or I may be thinking too much.

All in all, a very nice chapter! I have a question, I happen to see your fic in AO3 and you said that it's currently 4 chapters out of 30? So that mean's you've finished writing it? (no pressure but if you've finished I can expect you to update often heehee. Speaking of which, do you have an update schedule?) Also thanks for the reply to my earlier review, sorry for super long comment!

_My reply: Oh I put the chapter limit as 30 on AO3 as a rough estimate, from my planning of the plot. I haven't written past what I've uploaded yet, but I'll probably update once every 3-4 days. Sorry if that's a long wait…I'll try my best to write as fast as possible! _

_It's really ok, I'm love receiving long comments, they make me feel that my fic has been very well appreciated! 3 Haha I badly want to reply to some of the questions you asked, but I'll just totally spoil it for you! But your guess isn't far off hehe :) Yeah Eren and Mikasa are so young compared to the rest of their race, which makes them more precious :)_

_Thanks so much for your review! Hoped you liked the new chapter as well! _

Guest (ch 4): Did Ymir send Eren to seduce humans with his cuteness or something? LOL. (I'll definitely get seduced, of course.)

_My reply: ME TOOOMG. Haha she didn't, but I have to say that if she wanted to destroy the humans somehow, that's a really good tactic XD_

Guest (ch 4): I miss this fic. I hope you'll update soon. Cheers!

_My reply: Sorry for the long wait! Hope the new chapter made up for it!_

Guest (ch 4): rants about Ymir being a bitch

_My reply: She kind of is, right now haha. But you'll change your mind soon! _

Dark Flame: Ohhh boy, I love you soooo mutchhhhhhhh. Update faster plz

_My reply: HAHA I love you too for reading it :) I'll try my best :)_

LinkyOkumura37: I cant get over how great this story is! I just love it so much and you're such a good writer! glad Eren wont be In pain too much longer... Update again soon!

_My reply: Aww thank you! I spent forever planning it before writing, so I'm really glad it paid off :) Yeah Eren's life is about to get better!_

Guest (ch 5): Finally an update! It's a really great one too. I'm so glad Armin is on Eren's side and that he's still the same kind Armin that we all know and love. Thank you for the update! I can't wait to read the next chapter.

_My reply: Thank you! Armin is always kind, I can't imagine him being anything else! Hope you liked the new chapter too, and thanks for the review!_

Guest (ch 5): aaaw armin always the good one. Levi your a bastard right now.

_My reply: Yep, of course. Levi will gradually become less of an absolute asshole, don't worry :) _


	7. The Past, Steeped in Fire (Part 2)

When did he start calling them insects? He couldn't quite remember, but he knew that they hadn't always been insects to him. Somewhere in the distant past, when Levi still had his mother, father and teacher, he might have even idly wished for their freedom. Those were the days when his stomach would flutter and his heart will pinch every time he passed by one of the noblemen's pet nymphs in their golden cages. He would wonder if he could pick the lock without anyone noticing. Of course he never did – it was just a wistful thought.

He supposed if this story had a beginning, it started with his teacher. His family were close relatives of the royal family – noblemen who derived their wealth from their lucrative trading with merchants from the other two Kingdoms. He didn't like dealing with shipments, gold and copious amounts of papers and records, and quite fortunately, his parents never forced the family business upon him. He decided that healing and learning about various ailments caught his interest sufficiently, and was allowed to be tutored by the Head Physician of the King's Court. It was a man by the name of Grisha Jaeger.

Lord Jaeger was a nobleman as well – the only physician from a family of renowned hunters. Nevertheless, he was as good at his healing craft as his family was good at nymph hunting, and many children from wealthy households yearned to be under his tutelage. When the nine year old Levi first moved to his the Jaeger mansion to begin his studies, he wasn't surprised to find two other students already living there – an eccentric, wild girl his age by the name of Hanji Zoe, and another quiet, black haired six year old by the name of Mikasa. She had no family name. She was not exactly a student – she was Lord Jaeger's adopted daughter. According to the whispered conversations he had heard between his parents, she was the illegitimate child of one of his uncles, someone who shouldn't exist and would have been abandoned if not for Lord Jaeger's kindness.

She was probably his cousin by blood or something, but he never asked her about her parentage. There were some things that were not meant to be asked, and that everyone was better off not knowing. She hardly spoke anyway, and it was not in Levi's nature to go out of his way to begin a conversation. He couldn't remember much of those days, but it seemed that the only interaction they had were curt nods and single-worded exchanges when it was absolutely necessary. Hanji Zoe was another matter altogether. Levi distinctly recalled hiding in the storeroom, the bathroom, the wine cellars…anywhere clean enough, to get away from her constant excited babbling about nymphs and whatnot (he still did nowadays, some things just never change). Sometimes, he wondered if the only thing he wanted more than become a doctor as good as Lord Jaeger, was to find a way to shut her up.

And Lord Jaeger was just as kind as he looked – raising, teaching and caring for all three children as if they were his own. He had truly been a father to them, but Levi couldn't say the same for his elusive wife. Carla Jaeger was pale, sickly and even quieter than Mikasa, and the children rarely saw her. She stayed in her bedroom all day, seldom venturing to other parts of the house. The servants brought her meals and everything else she needed, and on the rare occasions she came out of her room, she wore a thick cloak, looking as if she would freeze to death without it. She was immensely beautiful and had a lovely smile, but she never spoke to anyone other than her husband. She would have made a wonderful mother if she weren't so sickly, silent and strange. The children completely forgot about her most of the time, as did the servants around the large mansion.

But she became remembered again when the children noticed Lord Jaeger staying at home more and more often, either spending an entire day in his laboratory, or staying by his wife's bedside.

"Is the Lady ill again?" Levi once asked.

"She's pregnant," Lord Jaeger replied, much to his surprise. Pregnant? Lord Jaeger would have a child of his own, finally.

"Congratulations," Levi said, concealing his doubts of whether the weak Lady Jaeger would be able to carry the pregnancy to full term. The doctor accepted it with a smile which didn't reach his eyes. Maybe the same worry was troubling him as well.

It wasn't long before everyone in the household knew, and unexpectedly, the excitable Hanji didn't pester or bother the expecting Lady Jaeger about her baby at all. If anything, she had finally learnt to be quiet – the Lady needed as much rest as she could. The little Mikasa had taken to standing guard outside the Lady's door whenever she was free, declaring that she needed to protect her unborn brother. It was quite adorable, to be honest.

The month before the baby was expected to arrive, Lord Jaeger sent his three students away temporarily, saying that he'd have his hands full for the time being without having to look after three other young children. Levi went back to live with his own parents for a while, while Mikasa was sent to Hanji's family.

Maybe Levi would have blissfully avoided what was to come if he hadn't gone back to the Jaeger mansion two months later, with the goal of retrieving some belongings he'd forgetfully left there. The child should have already been two weeks old by then, if the predicted birth date was accurate. Levi couldn't help but feel a little bitter that Lord Jaeger never bothered to invite his students over to see his newborn son. Maybe this child, being his own, was becoming more important to him than the three of them. He wondered if training under the lord would ever be the same, now that this baby was in the way.

The first thing he noticed upon approaching the mansion were the six large military carriages, parked beyond the fence. The gate was wide open, and the pretty little garden looked as if it had been very carelessly trampled on. Levi's gut twisted uncomfortably.

He ran into the mansion at full speed with a horrible sense of foreboding. It didn't take a fool to figure that something terrible had probably happened – the military only turned up when they wanted to arrest someone. But what trouble could Lord Jaeger, a doctor of the King's court, have possibly gotten into? Did he fail to heal someone important?

Surely, that can't be his fault!

With Hanji around, you'd think Levi would be used to very bizarre and appalling events, but nothing would have prepared him for what he saw that day, standing in the middle of the mansion's gigantic hall. First, there was the shrill sound of a newborn's cry, the kind that babies made when they were hurt, or terribly frightened. Four guards were hoisting a violently struggling Lady Jaeger down the steps, and four others were hauling Lord Jaeger close behind.

It was the first time Levi had seen Lady Jaeger without layers of thick clothing, but that wasn't the cause of his inability to form any coherent thought. Her stunningly fair skin, delicate shoulders and impossibly perfect figure weren't either.

Wings.

She had _wings_ on her back. All these years…her thick cloak had been hiding…wings.

They were green wings, the colour of her eyes. They resembled a dragonfly's wings – translucent and delicate, but much, much larger. They were forest emerald where they met her back, gracefully fading into a shimmering gold at the tips. They fluttered aggressively as she wrestled the guards, and her usual calm features were twisted in a ferocious snarl. She had appeared too weak to even walk for long, and now, she was throwing grown men out of her way as if they were no heavier than empty crates. She was clearly monstrously strong, and it was the strangest thing Levi had ever seen. She didn't manage to shake them off though – more armed men latched onto her every time she successfully shoved away one.

His head was spinning and his ears were ringing, but he could make out distinct words from the collective shouting and grunting.

"Give Eren back! I'll kill all of you! Give him back!"

"Let go of her at once! I can explain this!"

"Eren! Don't you dare touch him!"

Levi heard their rage and desperation, but he couldn't feel it. He couldn't feel anything. His head was threatening to break apart from all the noise, and from the whirlwind of thoughts inside.

Carla Jaeger was a _nymph_.

Oh gods.

His teacher had been hiding a nymph all these years, letting her run free rather than confining something so powerfully dangerous in a cage. It was not that Levi believed in imprisoning such beautiful creatures – it was just that this was…too outrageous. Nymphs were strong enough to kill easily, and their immense hatred for humans provided sufficient motivation for them to do so. For this reason, they were not considered humans and couldn't be allowed to live like humans. Nobles could keep nymphs as they pleased, provided that it was reported to the Royal Registrar at the time it was acquired, and kept safely locked away at all times. Keeping an unregistered nymph secretly – and especially, letting it live _free_ – was a crime of utmost gravity.

His teacher was going to be hanged. That was all Levi could think of.

Carla's crazed struggling was obviously tiring the men out, and with a lot of effort, they managed to shove her into a crude cage they had brought along with them. But rather than subdue her, she thrashed about harder than before, screaming hysterically and throwing herself at the bars with no regard for the many scratches and bruises mottling her skin. She screamed only one word, and it was 'Eren'.

"The baby's making her crazy," one of the men, the leader perhaps, said. He pointed his baton at the frightened newborn child, who was wailing despondently for its mother.

"Kill it," he commanded.

And with that, the men dropped the baby on the floor, and one of them pointed their guns at its tiny head. Now that the bundles of cloth had fallen away from it, Levi could see tiny stubs of brilliant green wings on its back. They seemed too weak to flutter the way Carla's did, but they trembled as the baby cried. The tiny wings sparkled in the light, so pretty and intricate that it was painful to look at them.

All hell seemed to break lose then as noise and chaos erupted.

"EREN!"

"NO!" Lord Jaeger hollered, his voice breaking with raw desperation. It was the most heart-wrenching sound Levi had ever heard. The men ignored him.

Levi realized a second later that he had yelled the same thing. He put his hand to his throat, stunned. The gunman aimed once more and put his finger on the trigger.

Something seemed to break in Levi. He didn't think, he just did it. He didn't know why. Later, when everything was calm again, he would realize that he probably acted the way he did because he spent hours studying how to save lives, so much so that he couldn't stand to see a life taken away so easily.

He dove into the crowd and made a grab for the baby on the floor. The men hadn't realized he was there at all, and leapt back hurriedly, stunned at the sudden appearance of a ten year old boy. Taking advantage of their momentary inaction, Levi made for the front door with everything he had, without even looking back.

"HEY! Someone, get him!"

"Run Levi! Keep running!"

"STOP!'

"As fast as you can!"

He didn't need to be told twice. As a child, he'd always hated his small stature, but now he'd never been more grateful of the fact that he was small and fast. He narrowly escaped several clumsy grabs at him, and barely slipped out of the door in time. From the crashing sound he heard behind him, he supposed Carla had tipped her cage over in an attempt to distract the guards from pursuing him. There seemed to be a hysterical fight going on in the hall, but he wasn't going to stop and watch. He sprinted across the yard and out of the gate, hoping he wasn't suffocating the baby by clutching it so tightly. The baby continued wailing, distressed at its parents' distress and all the frightening happenings in the past minute.

Levi had utterly no idea what he was supposed to do next, but decided he couldn't go wrong with dashing down the street and ducking into the nearest alley. But he was a nobleman's son – not a street ruffian – he didn't know the alleys at all. He sincerely hoped he won't run into any trouble at this inopportune time. Quite fortunately, the alley was empty of thieves and hooligans, and he ran into its protective darkness without abandon.

It seemed ages before he finally found a crack between two closely positioned dirty walls which he could easily hide himself in. The small space was reeking with slime and waste and flies were abuzz all around, but Levi's legs couldn't carry him any further. With immense disgust, he settled into the hideout, trying to breathe in as little of the rank air as possible.

The baby was still crying, but it was a continuous miserable whimper rather than a screeching wail. This won't do – they'll both get found in no time if it didn't keep quiet. Levi stared at the child in panic, at a loss of what to do. He was a child himself – of course he had no knowledge of how to shush babies. He settled for holding the baby closer and rocking it gently.

"Shhh," he said, putting his face close to the child's. It was a very beautiful child, with perfectly blushed cheeks and large emerald eyes filled with tears. But of course it was beautiful, it was a nymph.

What was its name again? Oh…Eren. It was a gender-neutral name that didn't tell him if it was a boy or girl. It was probably a female child, he decided. All nymphs were female, after all.

"It's ok Eren," he said. "I'll protect you."

He held the baby upright against his chest, bouncing it as he stroked its trembling wings. He wasn't sure if it was this caress or his comforting words, but the baby's cries gradually subsided into little sobs. His arms were aching so much, but he kept rocking little Eren, whispering gentle words in its ear. He didn't know how long he kept at it. When he turned to look at the child's face, he saw that it was fast asleep, clinging onto him tightly.

He sat down on the filthy floor, too exhausted to care. There was baby snot, tears and sweat all over him, but he couldn't bring himself to care either. Sometime later – he wasn't sure when – he heard the men pass through the alley, shouting for him to come out. He held his breath and prayed fervently that the baby wouldn't wake up and start wailing that very moment. It didn't, and the men left the alley.

Levi picked himself up, carrying the still-asleep little Eren. He was getting cold, and from the way the baby clutched him even tighter, he was sure the baby was too. What should he do now? Gods, he should have thought of this before he ran off with the baby. He certainly couldn't go back to the Jaeger mansion. Should he go back home and attempt to explain this to his parents? Lord and Lady Ackerman, kind as they were, would probably call a hunter to take it away to avoid bringing trouble upon themselves, and somehow, Levi desperately didn't want that to happen to the lovely child in his arms.

He was ten and certainly couldn't raise it by himself, but maybe he could try to leave it in the forest? He knew the forests well enough from his herb excursions with Lord Jaeger – perhaps he could leave the baby in a tree hollow and hope one of its own would pick it up.

He inched his way out of the crack, looking left and right to make sure the coast was clear. It was. Very carefully, he tiptoed across the alley, making sure not to step on anything which would make a loud noise.

At that very moment, a loud noise was exactly what tore through the air. It was a shrill whistling sound, the kind that indicated that a large object was falling through the sky. Levi looked up at the narrow stretch of sky through the tall buildings on either side of him. This day was over-saturated with excitement as it was – what on earth could be happening _now_?

It was then that he saw something so odd, it made all the other odd happenings of the day seem trifle. Till this day, Levi could not find a way to describe the way his whole world froze upon seeing it.

He could be sure he was dreaming, except that he was clearly not. Right before his eyes, a ball of fire flew across the sky, as large as a carriage or small hut. It landed quite a distance away from him, but no one could possibly miss the resounding crash that resonated through the air. It was a hideous sound – an explosion that sounded as if the earth itself was splitting open. Hysterical shouts and confused screaming permeated the air seconds later, but Levi barely had time to breathe before the next ball of fire landed, this time, passing him narrowly enough for him to feel its scorching heat.

The sun. It was as if the sun was dropping from the sky. Levi couldn't think of any other way to describe it.

And there was no way to wrap his mind around what he saw. He knew now that it was the beginning of the deadly Hail of Fire, but at that time, he couldn't even get his legs to start moving. It was like the end of the world – no, it _was_ the end of the world. More fiery stones descended from the sky in rapid succession, but it was the baby's startled cry that snapped Levi out of his reverie.

_Crash_!

"ARRHHHHH!"

By then, the air was filled with howls of pain, desperation and panic. There were sounds of stamping feet, neighing horses and carriage wheels flying across the cobblestones. He didn't need to see the people on the streets to guess that mass panic was breaking out, and that everyone was stumbling over each other in search for shelter against the scorching rain. One small ball of fire landed right at the entrance of the alley, and it was enough to set all the discarded wood there ablaze. Levi gave it a wide-eyed stare of horror before heading straight for the other end of the alley, in too much confused fear to even hope that it was still accessible. He clutched onto the baby as tightly as it clutched onto him, his heart threatening to leap right out of his throat.

All around them, thick billows of smoke appeared in the sky, like giants rising up from the ground.

Levi kept running.

They made it out of the alley in once piece, but Levi almost wished he didn't. The sight which greeted him would be etched in his mind till the day he died – no matter the number of gruesome deaths he'd seen in his adult days as a Hunter. He could hardly see anything through the thick smog, but from what he could make out, the floor was slick with burnt blood and hundreds of mangled bodies. There was not a sip of fresh air to be gasped – it was completely impossible to breathe. He could barely even open his eyes. Buildings were falling apart right before him, and he narrowly dodged the lose bricks raining down on him.

There were not many left alive to scream, but those who did screamed dreadfully. Sounds of babies wailing – near and far – merged with little Eren's cries. And above it all was the constant, deafening and repetitive crash of new fireballs as they met the surface of the earth, resounding and relentless as the mightiest thunderstorm.

He was going to die.

Levi was getting light-headed from the dense smoke, and with what little sense he had left, he removed his cravat and tied it around the baby's face as a shield from the ash. He flipped his shirt collar upwards until it covered his nose, and began his desperate search for shelter. A hail stone aimed straight for him, and he saved himself with a quick roll that almost crushed little Eren. Through the smoke, he could see that most buildings didn't withstand the hail.

He was going to die.

No wait. There was one nearby structure that could possibly hold up. The Jaeger mansion, just a few hundred metres ahead. He would go down to the cellars, where he and the baby would (he prayed) be protected from the fire descending upon them. His legs should be way past the limits of their tolerance by now, but somehow, he kept running, how that there was hope for survival.

The mansion came into sight, and Levi made a mad dash at it, not bothering to care anymore if he may be hit by a descending hailstone. One singed right his shoulder, and the agony if the burn was so intense that he almost fell over. The baby was unscathed, and he gritted his teeth, careening straight through the front doors. He collapsed on the floor then, but he never let go of little Eren.

_Eren must be really jostled by now._

Funny that such a trifle thought would come to him at a moment like this. But Eren was crying loudly, which meant that it was probably still fine. Maybe nymph children were hardier than human babies. Barely conscious, he tried to crawl his way across the floor before a hailstone fell through the building and ended them both.

He didn't even want to think about what was happening. He wouldn't be able to process it, anyway. Maybe it was all a spectacularly terrible dream, and he'd walk up soon.

Strange. He'd never been a particularly imaginative child.

He held little Eren close to him, wondering how long more he'd have to tolerate this before he died in this nightmare and woke up in his bed at home. He had been in unbelievable pain just a minute ago, but now, he just wanted to close his eyes and lie there.

"GIVE MY BABY BACK!"

A snarl tore through the air. Murderous, insane, demented. No human could have made a howl like that.

He snapped his eyes open, subconsciously putting himself between little Eren and the source of the scream.

And that was when he saw Carla.

**Author's Note**: This is only half of the background story. It was too long, so I had to truncate it. Don't worry, you'll get your explanations in the next chapter! About Mikasa, Carla, Grisha…everyone.

Yeah, so Levi had met Eren before. Even ran through burning streets with Eren like the action hero he is :) He was so kind and protective too. See, I'm so pathetic at writing fluff, it became angst instead -.- Feel free to comment / review, I would love to hear your theories :)


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